


By Any Other Name

by Dianalynn1138



Series: By Any Other Name [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Inspired by Romeo and Juliet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:40:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24109858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dianalynn1138/pseuds/Dianalynn1138
Summary: Five years ago, Armitage Hux changed the direction of his entire life after a stolen kiss with the young Lady Tico.  The plan he hatched after that night has finally come to a head but things have changed, the feeling he has for her have gotten stronger and run deeper than he ever thought possible.Rose Tico was pickup up off the street by a powerful man and in a matter of moments became the adopted daughter of one of the Corporate Sector's biggest crime boss.  After meeting Armitage Hux Rose decided to take her life in her ow hands, trying to find a way to free herself of the gilded cages she had been placed in.With her life in danger, can Rose fully trust this man who may have manipulated her over the years, or will her inability to admit her true feelings for this man keep him at a distance while still pulling him closer.Chapter One: His Black Leather GlovesBrendol Hux is dead and the plan Armitage Hux put into place all those years ago suddenly change with one word from Rose Tico.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Phasma/Paige Tico
Series: By Any Other Name [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813057
Comments: 49
Kudos: 51
Collections: GingerRoseWeek2020





	1. His Black Leather Gloves

**Author's Note:**

> I have been so excited for this story for months and now i can finally post the first chapters! I want to thank all of my GingerRose Fam for help on this, Canon is hard! 
> 
> But mostly I want to thank my Beta Brit, wihout who this story would NOT be the story it has turned out to be!
> 
> **There are two prologue stories for this series
> 
> A Coming Out Party  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/23704999
> 
> Briarpatch and Finalizer  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/23791030

**BREAKING NEWS: Brendol Hux, Founder and CEO of Hux Enterprises has died in his sleep after a long battle with illness. Armitage Hux, Brendol’s son and business partner will be speaking in the next few hours on the life of his father and his role in the company moving forward.**

Jyn Erso read the breaking news banner scrolling across the datapad in front of her for a third time as she built her mistress’ breakfast tray, surprised at the news but not entirely shocked by it. After placing the datapad on the tray, adding a glass jar of meiloorun jam, and double checking the pitcher of caf was still piping hot, Jyn walked into the bedroom of her mistress and began the process of waking her up; never an easy task. Jyn had been Rose Tico’s lady’s maid for thirteen years and in that time Jyn had learned a few things about her mistress, two of them being that she loved the morning sun but hated waking up in order to see it. Jyn placed the tray on the table by the large window which overlooked the artificially created sea below, beautiful even if it was man and droid made. As the shutters which enclosed the sleeping quarters in almost total darkness began to open allowing the morning sun to shine into the space, Jyn descended the two steps into the sunken area where her mistress was still asleep; the bed was obscenely large, with black silk sheets, a black quilt and more pillows then Jyn had thought could fit on one bed. 

“Mistress Rose, there has been a development I believe you will find of interest; I have placed a datapad on your tray with your first meal.” Jyn stated as Rose moaned her displeasure in being woken up.

Jyn walked to the dressing room and retrieved Rose’s white silk robe then returned to the bed. 

“Whatever it is, I don’t care.” The tired woman mumbled while pushing her face into the pillows beside her; pillows that had never been slept on by her, but held the scent of a particular person whom her mistress found comforting, whether she would admit to it or not. Laying the robe on the corner of the bed, Jyn leaned down and folded the sheet off of the grouchy woman as she continued to bury herself in the untouched side of the bed.

“Mistress Rose, Brendol Hux has died.”

That got her attention. Rose sat up, back ram rod straight in the bed, her long black hair cascading over her ample chest that was barely covered by the silk nightgown.

“Brendol? Brendol is dead?”

Jyn stood back as Rose bolted out of bed, allowing Jyn to slip her floor length robe on over the young woman’s bare shoulders. Rose tied it closed it as she walked to the table where the datapad rested.

Jyn began to make the bed, careful to not touch the aforementioned pillows much, the last thing Jyn wanted was for the cleaning droid to think they needed to be put in the laundry, let alone disturb the precious item which was hidden beneath them, upsetting Rose more than she already was.

“Would you like me to take to required precautions so that you may contact _Finalizer_ , Mistress?”

_Finalizer_ was a ridiculous code name.

Rose thought back to when she received the secret datapad in which to have clandestine meetings with its sender all those years ago, the names _Finalizer_ and _Briarpatch_ were already coded into it with no ability for change.

Rose looked at her companion as she carefully made the bed, remembering the most beautiful dream she had been having before being woken up; one full of heated touches and lips on hot skin. Moans filled her ears at the memory of the dream, some soft and delicate, others rough and all male. Rose watched as Jyn fluffed her pillows, including the ones on the other side of the bed, careful not to touch them too much. It had been a month since he had been there last, a month since she had seen him. The memory was one of both pleasure and pain: pain due to their mutual contempt for each other and overt pleasure since they couldn’t keep their hands off one another for longer than a span of a few minutes. 

Armitage Hux was the bane of Rose’s existence and the object of deepest more darkest desires.

Rose turned her attention to the datapad and the Breaking News.

_“In a statement given by a spoke’s person for the family notes how grieved the younger Hux is at the loss of his father but will endeavor on in Brendol’s honor and not let the memory of his father falter.”_

Rose read outload as she spread jam on her toast while Jyn poured her caf, adding just the right amount of milk knowing just how she liked it.

“What a load of bull shit.” Rose said tossing the datapad a little harder than intended to the table before taking the cup from the saucer and taking a sip, giving into a moment to enjoy the taste.

“Spoke’s person? Dopheld Mitaka, more like; why don’t they use his name? Is there nothing that man won’t do for his master?” Rose stood from the table and walked to the window, looking past the bay the Tico estate sat above and into the Canto Bight skyline. 

The Tico houshold was nestled high in the desert mountains, easily protected if war ever came to Cantonia; The Hux household was a city dwelling taking up an entire city block not far from the casinos where Brendol liked to do most of his business dealings. Would Armitage keep that location now he was on charge, Rose wondered.

“What do you think, Jyn? Do you think Armitage Hux has it in him to kill his own father?” She asked before biting into the toasted triangle. Rose trusted Jyn with her life, she knew where her maid’s loyalties lay, and they were not with Rose’s father.

“I had heard Brendol was ill for a while now, maybe he didn’t have anything to do with it.” Jyn said as she began straitening up around the table.

Rose looked at her with a sly smile her focus changed to the other woman in the room. “And where did you hear that, pray tell?” 

Jyn gave a secret smile but didn’t look at Rose. “Just… Around.”

Rose knew Jyn and Hux’s body man, Mitaka, had been getting close in the past years and Rose couldn’t fault her maid for it. 

“Well, now I _definitely_ know he did it!” Rose blurted out with a small laugh then returned to the datapad to finish the news report. “I just don’t know how.” Rose looked up from the datapad and sighed in resignation. “I’m going to have to contact him, aren’t I?” Jyn gave Rose a sympathetic smile. 

No matter how she looked at it, Rose knew the facts of the matter; Brendol Hux was dead and Armitage would be taking over the company. Which meant her father, Baze Tico would have to deal with him. Rose remembered painfully the last time the younger Hux and her father met. The meeting started with strong words but ended in violence and two men dead. Armitage had gotten away with only a minor blaster burn on his side and some bruises from their escape. Rose took a careful sip of her caf as she contemplated the question burning in her mind:

_How does one kill their father and make it look natural?_

And could she, Rose Tico, do it as well?

Rose looked up to see Jyn giving her a nod. She then watched as her maid ran to the dressing room, Rose heard as a drawer was opened and then closed. Rose let out a breath as Jyn came back to the table with a small datapad which had only one true function. Jyn then walked to the control panel on the bedroom door and began to secure the room, locking them in and keeping all comms from going in or out; all but the one Rose held in her hand. The only light in the room now artificial that the shutters on the window back into their locked and secured positions; this precaution was in place for when the family home was put on lockdown during times of emergencies but Rose used it to her advantage Baze didn’t pay much attention to what she did in her own wing of the house; her only escape, should she need one was a hatch on the back of her dressing room which opened to a path which lead to an escape shuttle. The door, however, had other uses, Rose had come to find in the past years. Once the room was protected from outside interruptions Rose looked at the device in her hand and bit her lower lip:

It was time to contact Armitage Hux.

The house was in a state of commotion the likes of which Hux had never seen: media outlets out front, the staff inside running around, the medical droids being ushered in and out of his father’s room. They could check all they wanted, as far as they would ever find out, Brendol Hux died of an uncurable disease that had no real name. They would never be able to trace the small amounts of poison slipped into his morning caf and afternoon drinks, Hux had seen to that, he trusted his man. 

Armitage Hux sat on the balcony of his private living quarters overlooking the city, enjoying his tea and breakfast, so far removed that he couldn’t hear the commotions on the other side of his door. Draped in a black silk robe fresh from a sonic shower, Hux looked over the transactions from the month before. His father may have died, but the business was still in working order, and what a business it was. 

A year after Armitage had taking a lead role, Hux Enterprises went from being a Cantonian based industry, selling small ships and weapons for crime syndicates and off-shoot rebels wanting to fight against the occupation of First Order, to supplying not only the First Order themselves but also to the Resistance. War profiteering was a lucrative trade, if one knew how to play both sides. 

The millions of credits the Hux men had made, gave them a status outside the Corporate Sector, reaching from the Outer Rim to the center of the universe, Coruscant, the New Republic and all those in between.

Mitaka, Hux’s body man and closest confidant rushed into the room holding a datapad.

“Sir, you have a call.” 

Mitaka had been with Hux since they were children; he had always been trustworthy, and Hux didn’t know what he would do if he ever lost the man. 

“Mitaka, please take a message, I am preparing myself for playing the grieving son of a man I despised and have now killed. The last thing I need is to deal with anything else right now.”

“But, sir…” Mitaka insisted.

“I _will_ not take any calls right now, is this clear?” Hix barked out, agitated.

“I understand sir, and if this was on any other call I would have taken a message, not even brought it to your attention, however…Sir, it’s _her.”_

Hux almost dropped his tea as he heard this, glancing at the man holding the datapad in question.

It had been a month since he had seen _her_ , a month since he had been inside _her_ , heard _her_ moans, felt _her_ pulse around him, and Hux wanted be vexed with her for the radio silence and distance she kept between them. He loathed that this female was the only one in the galaxy that tempted his hard-won shrewdness and cold demeanor. But Hux had always known he would have to play this game; one with her believing that she was in charge; whether he liked it or not.

Rose Tico.

Five years ago, one kiss had sealed his fate with a girl who was experimenting with what it meant to be a woman and every day since he wanted to hate her for it. Just hearing her name got him hard- the need to take himself in his own hand right then and there, it didn’t matter, after waking up alone that morning, that he had already done so after finding a scarp of lace he had stolen from one of the secret rendezvous. Then again, in the shower, when he thought about how she looked on her knees in front of him, mouth wrapped around his cock, his hand threaded through her thick, silky soft black hair…

“Sir…” Mitaka cut through his thoughts by handing the datapad over and securing the room before he answered.

_Transmission Received From: Briarpatch…_

Hux read the text on the device he held. Gathering all the strength he could muster in that moment, Hux turned the holo projection on and, just like he always did, lost his breath when her face showed. 

“Briarpatch, did you call to offer condolences for my loss?” he asked trying to hide a smirk.

“If I believed you were truly grieved by the loss, yes, I would. But no, I am contacting you to request a meeting. One hour, my quarters, you know the way in.”

Without any more words spoken, Rose closed the link, her face gone much to Hux’s displeasure. 

Mitaka took the pad and walked to the dressing room, Hux following close behind and was greeted by the collection of black fabrics of all shapes and finishes lay out before him. 

His entire life, Hux had been in one uniform or another, first a young schoolboy’s uniform at the private diplomat academy on Naboo, then an officer’s uniform during his training on Arkanis before coming to join his father’s business endeavors on Cantonia. A uniform told a person who you were without any words, it indicated, class, rank and stature. A person in a uniform, military or not, sent the unspoken message, “I am not here to bullshit.”

The uniform Hux donned now was still as sharp and well planned as the military ones of his youth. Today’s consisted of a pair of black silk trousers, a black high collared shirt with a sharp leather vest which wrapped around his torso fastening at the side under his ribs. A tailored jacket which hit just at his mid-thigh would complete the look along with silk wrapped around his neck and a pair of his favorite gloves. This outfit would also serve as his mourning attire; the plan was that Hux would leave from the meeting with Rose and straight to the memorial for his late father. The thought that perhaps if he was seeing Rose then perhaps, he shouldn’t wear something so intricate, but he was on a schedule and even though it pained him, Hux knew he would not have the chance to take what he knew they both wanted. No matter how tempting she would make herself. 

Mitaka finished tying the intricate cravat and affixed it with a pin. Once free to move, Hux reached for the drawer which stored his gloves, seeking one pair in particular but there was only one glove, which Hux found odd. 

“Mitaka, I’m missing one of my Order gloves. I am sure one of the servants have lost it. Find who it is and fire them.” Displeased his favorite pair of gloves had been separated, Hux reached for a pair, which laid on top, black leather encased his fingers but left his thumbs uncovered, tugging them on after Mitaka draped his long black coat draped over his shoulders, and walked out to meet his transport.

Rose heard when the escape door attached to her dressing room slide open with a hiss. Hurriedly she climbed the steps from the sunken bathing pool, and, after drying off, was wrapped in a gauzy red dress by Jyn. Rose walked to her vanity where she began to comb out her long black hair. Having something to occupy her hands kept Hux from seeing her shake with anticipation at the sight of him. 

“I was summoned.” Hux stated, clearly displeased.

As Hux walked in, he unfurled his coat from his body and laid it delicately on the back of the chair in which he then made himself comfortable by taking a seat, his indifferent refection looming in the distance. 

Rose stopped combing her hair and spun around to face him taking a special thrill at the quick inhale of breath he took as she stood up. The dress Jyn had chosen for just this moment was genius, but to call what she wore a dress was being unfair to proper dresses; the sleeveless wrap was as shear as the day was long, pinned just under her breast and left nothing to the imagination. Rose knew Hux would be dressed in his armor of silk and wool, and she used her body as way to disarm him. 

“Yes, I wished to speak with you about a few things.” Rose said as she walked closer to where he was sitting and sat down in the chair next to the one he had positioned himself. 

She crossed her legs and looked up into his face, feigning annoyance at the way he peered down at her over the top of his nose. Fuck but he was a classist mother fucker and the snobbier he was with her, the more turned on she got. Rose was surrounded by snobbish men, those who would control her and have her be just a toy to take down off a shelf and play with, but when Hux did it, looked down at her she could see the brilliant mind working as his eyes glittered with desire: desire for her and for the power he craved more than anything. Rose knew if she were to give herself to this man fully, she would be a partner with him. 

But Rose had plans and she would not be distracted by a beautiful face or an even more beautiful cock.

“And what makes you think I will want to continue our tryst now that my father is dead? Don’t you think I have enough clout to go head to head with your father now that I’m in charge?” The question was asked softly but with every intention that it could be an honest one. Rose watched his face as he spoke, the only outward hint of his frustration was the soft blush rising on his cheeks. Hux could easily play off the heat in his face as the warmth from the hot spring which fed her bathing pool making his cheek turn a beautiful shade of pink, but Rose knew better. What gave him away, though were his eyes, those sea green eyes glittering with hunger; Rose wondered if he knew she could read him so easily.

“You want to stop? You think you CAN stop?” Rose shifted crossing one leg over the other. “I’m so far under your skin, Armitage, I bet, if I were barely touch you in just the right spot, I could make you come almost immediately. Are you hard for me right now?” Rose shifted, crossing the other leg over.

She stood up and walked around to the other side of Hux’s chair, reaching for something on the table behind him. 

“You think you know me, woman?” Hux sneered, rising quickly from his seat in one fluid motion.

He moved so fast; Rose couldn’t track it. Suddenly she was pressed into the wall, breasts flattened along the hard surface as Hux pressed his entire body against her, his cock prodding into her lower back.

“Mmm, I was right.” She purred with sly smile. She tensed as she felt his hand reach around and open the front of her gown, the smooth coolness of the leather running down her thigh, coxing her legs farther apart.

“It’s a damn shame it took you so long to get dressed, Hux, because I can see you want to fuck me right now, but your ridiculous outfit keeps that cock of yours from joining in on the fun, doesn’t it?”

Hux flipped her around pressed her back into the wall growling and leaned close to her ear, his gloved hand palmed her sex making them both moan with need. Hux coxed her legs farther apart and ran his thumb through the drenched lips of her pussy making Rose whimper uncontrollably.

“Why? Why the fuck do you do this to me? What about you makes me this fucking crazy, I lose all common sense, Rose?” He softened just slightly as one of his gloved fingers entered her drenched sex followed by second; the friction was ecstasy. 

Rose didn’t know the answer to that; it was a question she asked herself over and over again, what was it about this man that made her lose all sense of rational thought?

Rose’s hands moved to cradle his head as he bent down to nip at her neck, licking away each sting. His mouth moved to behind her ear, her most sensitive spot, something Hux knew in great detail, curling his two fingers in as his thumb applied pressure to her clit.

His other hand moved upward, unpinning her dress and massaging her breast, pinching her nipple between his exposed thumb and gloved forefinger. Rose was so close, she could feel her climax building, reaching ever higher to the crescendo where only he could take her. 

But just as quickly as pleasure began, Hux pulled his fingers from her clenching sex, Rose could feel her juices dripping down the inside of her leg as she watched him back away with an evil smile on his smug face. 

Rose’s climax had been pulled out from under her by the man standing in front of her bringing his gloved hand to his mouth, lapping up her juices like a child with his favorite treat.

“You called me he for a reason, Tico. As you can imagine I’m very busy today.” Hux walked back over to where his coat had been placed still visibly aroused through the silk if his trousers.

“What is it you wanted?”

Rose wanted to scream. She wanted to beg him to fuck her, to finish what he had started with his fingers, but Rose was a proud woman. She would not beg any man for anything; not her father for her sister’s life, not Hux for a mind-blowing fuck they both needed. 

Rose would not beg for anything. If she wanted something, she would figure out a way to get it, by hook, or by crook. 

When Rose regained her composure and pinned her dress back together, then crossed the room to retrieve the datapad from the table by the window, shoving it into his hand on her return.

“My sister’s next match is in a few days; she is being told to throw it, take a dive and prove her loyalty to my father. The problem is, if she does, the fighter my father has chosen as her opponent has a reputation for killing in order to win.”

Rose reached across Hux’s body bringing up a holoimage of a large beast lifting an opponent over his head and crashing him to the ground. 

“If my sister does not fight to win, she will die.”

Rose clenched her molars together in order to keep herself from crying at the unjustness of her father. Hux looked up at Rose waiting for her to finish.

“I want to have my father taken care of, Hux,” she took a deep, steadying breath and caught Hux’s sea green eyes with her own. “I want him dead.”

Hux sat in the transport, the entire meeting with Rose Tico replaying in his head. He still couldn’t believe what she had asked him to do. 

“ _I want him dead,_ ” she’d said, so matter of fact, she had actually asked him to kill her father. Sure, he had just killed his own, but Brendol was a scumbag who had killed his own wife. Baze Tico was not innocent by any stretch of imagination, but to be the one to be asked gave Hux pause for a moment, not because he didn’t have the balls to do it, but because Rose had asked _him_. The fact that she trusted him not to turn on her meant only one thing: the plan he had put into motion five years ago, to build this empire, take the Tico triad down and keep Rose for himself, was right on schedule. 

Hux had been waiting to see what Baze’s move that would be would set his next phase of the plan into action; making Paige chose between loyalty and living in the ring with her sister watching was the move Hux had been waiting for. 

As the transport traveled down the mountain, away from Rose, Hux thought about what would come after this plan was finished; the culmination of four years coming to an end. What would that look like?

Hux had never thought about family, he grew up away from any idea of what a family could and should be. As a cadet, he would hear others in his ranks talk of when they could pair up and live in family housing on a military outpost or even on a few of the larger star destroyers that welcomed civilians. It seemed like a fantasy and Hux didn’t have time for fairy tales. Hux had never wanted or craved those types things; they would only get in the way of his work. But when he had met Rose Tico, watched her eyes as she spoke to him not knowing who he was all those years ago, Hux knew this woman was the only one who could stand with him. 

Of course, he would do it, Rose asked him for so little and taking Baze Tico out of the equation really did make things easier for him to acquire more control. It just made good business sense.

This hadn’t been part of the original plan but Hux was nothing if not capable to maneuver around an unforeseen issue. In fact, this might actually kill two birds with one stone, if he could work it properly.

Then there was Rose’s sister’s problem. Hux already had a man on the inside, as it were, watching out for the fighter, updating him on how Baze treated his daughter’s sister. Hux was not ready for Rose to know all the things he had done over the years where she was concerned; protecting her in one form or another. Hux would play this as close to the vest the best he could, he didn’t want her questioning his motives, yet.

A plan was beginning to work itself out when Hux looked at the chronometer on the wall of the transport and sighed: two hours until his speech at his father’s memorial. Hux leaned back and pushed his gloved hands through his hair, only to catch the scent of Rose’s juices still lingering there. He hadn’t meant to go that far but the moment he saw her in that gauzy confection of a dress, her breasts on full display and her pert nipples concealed in the folds of the blood-red fabric, Hux’s mind had gone blank. Thinking of her now, hot, wet, pliant under his touch was almost too much. He hadn’t jacked off so much in one day since his youth and he’d discovered pornographic holovids in his father’s office. 

The memory of her gasp when he nipped at the soft spot behind her ear had his cock coming to full attention, and this time, it wouldn’t take no for an answer. Pissed at himself, he closed the partition between him and the front seat, leaving Mitaka alone with the transport’s pilot droid. Hux unfastened his trousers and took himself in hand as he thought of Rose in that red monstrosity of a dress, while moving his hand up and down the sensitive shaft he let out a frustrated snarl.

“That fucking woman.”


	2. The Battle Within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Fight Night in Canto Bight and the fighters are ready to enter the ring!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I want to thank my super amazing Beta Brit for helping me with this chapter. It's a lot in one chapter but she really helps me get to the meat of it!!

**_Trill, Trill, Trill_ **

****

The sound of the commlink split the darkness, slicing the peace and tranquility of the room into jagged bits like glass shards.

Phasma moved reluctantly away from the soft woman she had been wrapped around, grumbling at being woken up so rudely.

“It’s too fucking early…”

_Call from Armitage Hux_ scrolled across the top of the screen attached to the commlink making Phasma question if she was still asleep or was she in a dream; Hux didn’t call her, it was always Mitaka who called on her to meetings or to set up fights, never Hux himself. 

Phasma rolled out of bed, placing two feet flat on the floor, pausing as she heard her sleeping partner stir behind her. Paige Tico didn’t sleep much while she was training for a fight and the last thing Phasma wanted was to wake her. 

“Go back to sleep, love, I’ll come back in a bit,” she said, reaching out to stroke the other woman’s bare hip.

Moving past the small living area and into a storage closet to take the call, Phasma’s head spun with thoughts of what this call could be about. Her fight last month went well; she wasn’t scheduled on the fighting roster for another few weeks so it couldn’t be about her day job as The Captain, an undefeated fighter in the throughout the Corporate Sector. 

If Hux was calling on her himself then that could only mean something was in the works with Baze Tico, and by extension his Lady Rose.

Phasma went into the small closet off to the side of the kitchen area to take the call. The last thing she wanted was for Paige to hear what Hux had to say, especially if it had to do with her. Taking a deep breath, Phasma pressed the _Receive_ button on the communication device.

“Armitage, my condolences on the tragic loss of your father.” She said trying to sound cool and collected and not like she was worried about the woman still asleep in her bed; or worse, let Hux know her protection of Paige had grown into a relationship. 

“Yes, it was tragic, I don’t know how I will continue with my life.” Hux said without any emotion causing Phasma to smile.

She knew how much this man had hated his father, during the years she spent with him at the academy; it was easy to tell he couldn’t care less about the older man, which was why it was strange when she heard he had given up everything to join in his fathers business. Phasma would come to find out the reason and she couldn’t blame him. Phasma soon learned the reason; a beautiful woman trapped in a gilded cage. It would seem the Tico sisters had this effect on people. The thought of Paige sleeping in the other room made Phasma hoped Hux would get to the point of his call quickly, she had somewhere better to be.

“What can I do for you this early in the morning? I have company I wish to get back to.”

Phasma wasn’t one to talk about her personally life, but she wanted to seem like she wasn’t nervous by his call. 

“I need you to come to the town house. We need to speak, and I wish to do it face to face,” Hux disconnected the call before she could answer him.

Phasma tried to wrap her head around Hux’s request. On its surface, Phasma knew Hux had Paige’s best interest at heart, because if anything happened to Paige, then Rose Tico would be devastated. 

Phasma thought about the chain of events that had brought her to Canto Bight: Hux claimed he wanted someone he trusted inside the boxing area to make sure Paige Tico was treated well by her handlers. Phasma was to report back to Hux all news where Paige was concerned; especially if Paige’s sister, the Lady Rose made an appearance. 

Phasma had to smile at the memory of the first time she had informed Hux Rose had stopped by to meet with Paige. Not ten minutes later he had strolled in with some ridiculous excuse to talk with Syndulla about an upcoming fight.

“Phas? Are you in the closet?” Paige’s voice was muffled on the other side of the door. 

When the door hissed open, Phasma looked at the stunning woman in front of her; tall well-toned muscles, a small body which belied the strength she could unleash on her opponent at the right moment. Dressed in only a tattered, green tunic, her pendent necklace hanging from her neck, the twin to the one worn by her sister, Rose. Phasma couldn’t believe this woman was hers: hers in flesh, mind, and spirit. The sounds of her moans from the night before still echoed in Phasma’s ears, pulling her up and towards the woman standing in front of her.

“I had to take a call; I didn’t want to wake you.” Phasma leaned closer to Paige, catching her lips in a soft kiss, tugging at her bottom lip as she pulled away. “I have to go see Hux before breakfast, so I will have to meet you at the training center later.”

Paige’s hands went to Phasma’s hips, pulling her towards her, pressing their bodies together and giving her a heated look.

“How much time do we have?” Paige asked with a coy smile, mischief in her voice.

“Not enough for what I’d want to do to you.” Phasma teased, then reached up, cupping the either woman’s face carefully in her hands, leaning down and kissing her in earnest.

Falling in love with this woman was not the plan, but after four years of watching out for her, learning what made Paige tick, and spending nights alone in the training facility with her, working out, grappling on the mats, one thing was bound to lead to another and before Phasma knew, Paige was everything to her. She would protect this woman with her life, if need be.

The development of feelings for Paige hadn’t been sudden or even obvious to Phasma. It was the small touches off the mat that she first noticed; Paige would reach over and wipe resin dust off her face during training, or their hands would brush against each other while sitting on the transport back to the fighter’s barracks. The small things that could be taken as friendship or kindness at first glance but held heat and desire behind the action each time.

Phasma could still remember the look in Paige’s eyes when she finally asked about the soap she liked using after training; a sweet jasmine scented gel uncommon in the fighter’s locker rooms. Phasma had assumed Paige’s sister had given it her, and was surprised to find out the gel was something Paige bought herself, her one luxury.

_I’m still a woman and I enjoy womanly things, don’t you?_

Phasma smiled at the memory of leaning in and kissing her sweet mouth at her words.

“Shame.” Paige breathed, smiling against Phasma’s lips.

Damn, but Phasma loved this woman, and as much as she didn’t want to, she had Armitage Hux to thank for putting her in Paige’s path. Even if his constant manipulation and need to control a multitude of endgames was the reason.

Phasma heard the sonic shower turn on; the sound hitting Phasma right in the gut. Well, she did need a shower before meeting her employer, didn’t she? Taking one with Paige, well that was just smart, Phasma thought to herself as she walked to the small refresher and stepped into the sonic shower with a wicked smile.

Phasma was escorted to the top floor of the Hux apartment complex and hour later than she had originally planned. The turbo lift heading past the rental properties Hux was landlord of, directly to the Hux penthouse. Once the lift came to a stop and the doors opened, Phasma was greeted with an empty living area.

Mitaka, Hux’s body man and main confidante for Armitage Hux walked out drying off his hands on a towel.

“Capitan, lovely to see you again. If you please, my Lord wishes you to join us while he is preparing for the day,” Mitaka addressed her, then gestured to follow him. Shaking her head slightly as she did so, Phasma wondered if there was anything this man wouldn’t do for his employer.

They walked through a sleeping chamber and into the largest refresher Phasma had ever seen. Hux was leaned back in a chair with some sort of cape draped across his chest and white cream on his face. Mitaka returned to his place behind Hux and, after picking up what looked like a straight edged blade, began scrapping the seated man’s face, wiping the blade off after every motion across Hux’s face.

“You know they have sonic shavers for that,” Phasma said as she leaned against the door jam, annoyed she had been summoned only to watch as he had his faced shaved clean. 

Within moments Mitaka had completed his job with the blade, placing a hot towel over the man’s face, using it to rid the skin of any lingering white cream. 

“You made this sound important, so, if you only brought me here to watch your man run a blade over your face, I think I’ll leave.”

Phasma knew most people would not be allowed to speak to him like this, so brashly and without fear of retribution, but she and Hux had been children together; Phasma knew the joys and fears that only children would share with one another. Hux, for lack of a better option, was Phasma’s oldest friend. She let out a soft laugh at the thought.

“I am going to move your next fight up,” Hux finally spoke up. Phasma looked at him as he rose from the chair and looked at himself in the reflective glass. 

“You could have told me this over the commlink, I don’t understand…” Phasma began in confusion.

“It will be with Paige.” Hux said, talking over Phasma. 

Phasma’s heart nearly stopped.

“We aren’t on the same roster; we aren’t even in the same class!” Phasma was trying, with great difficulty, to make sense of what Hux was telling her. 

“Yesterday I received information regarding Paige’s upcoming fight. I have since been informed that her opponent has been changed to Garazeb Orrelios.” Hux spoke the name with distain. “A Lasat from the outer rim. How the fuck Tico found a Lasat is beyond me.” Hux finished, exasperated at the situation.

Phasma knew of the Lasat species, they were large, brutal warriors who were all but extinct during the Empire. Phasma stood a full head above Paige, if the image she was remembering from her military training at the academy was correct, a Lasat would be able to crush someone Paige’s size with his bare hands.

“He’ll kill her.” Phasma said on a breathless whisper. “But Paige’s fight is against Cassian Andor. They have been training for weeks.” Phasma said trying desperately to clear her mind of panic and attempt to make sense of this news.

Hux finally turned from the reflective glass to look at Phasma.

“There’s more.” Hux continued.

“I will call for some tea,” Mitaka spoke up, reminding Phasma they were not entirely alone in the refresher. 

Hux murmured an affirmative reply. Once Mitaka had left, she and Hux moved into the living area; something Phasma was grateful for, the steam and closed space had begun to feel insufferably stifling.

The two made themselves comfortable on the large black couch in the center of the room, amid the contrast of black and white furnishing, décor and art. But an eye-catching oddity was the multiple vases of red roses dotted around the room. Was this something he asked for? Did Hux even know what he had surrounded himself with? Had his obsession for Paige’s sister reach such obvious heights?

“There seems to be a silver lining, as it were, to the change; the Lasat won’t actually be inclined to kill her to win. I have it on good authority that Tico has told her to throw the match.”

Phasma was confused by this. The fighters at The Box were forbidden from throwing a match. If there was even a hint of this, they wouldn’t be allowed to return. 

“Baze, ever the paranoid sociopath, has questioned Paige’s loyalty to him. By throwing the match, Paige will have proven her loyalty and lived to fight another day.”

“She never told me.” Phasma said out loud, again to no one in particular. “Why wouldn’t she have told me?”

Mitaka walked into the room again holding a tray of tea and some sweet biscuits for the two. He placed the tray on the table in front and began pouring the brew for each, handing them a cup and saucer once prepared

Phasma felt his penetrating gaze on her for long moments.

“How long” Hux said after receiving his beverage.

“I’m sorry?” Phasma tried to feign ignorance to his question.

He took a breath and put the cup on the table. “How long have you been fucking her?”

Phasma bit her lower lip, then placed her own cup and saucer on the table sitting up taller to meet his gaze, but still said nothing.

“Do you love her?” Phasma was surprised at how soft his voice had become.

“Yes,” Her gaze never wavered from his. “Do you?”

Everything he had done in the last four years had to do with Rose; every single person close to him knew this as fact. Phasma, Mitaka, even Paige joked once that if she didn’t know any better, she would swear Hux had a thing for her sister. Phasma just couldn’t tell if Hux himself knew how deep his feelings so obviously went. Pushing him like this was risky but Phasma knew the answer, even if he didn’t.

Hux licked his lips and looked at his cup. That was all answer she needed.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Armitage”

“I need you to trust I have her best interest in mind, Phasma.”

Phasma didn’t trust many people; Paige, Cassian Andor and a few others on the fighting circuit but when it came right down to it, her past had made her weary. Armitage Hux, however, was someone who had proven himself time and again as trustworthy, even if she didn’t always know the plan being developed in his mind. From the time they had become close at the academy on Naboo Phasma and Hux had trusted one another, had each other’s back, no questions asked. When Phasma left the confines of the military ranks, ending up on the galactic fighting circuit, Hux hadn’t criticized her, but actually began betting on her, always giving her a fair share of the pot, knowing her winnings weren’t always handled well; being an up and coming fighter. If Armitage Hux asked her to trust him, that he had everything under control, Phasma had no reason to question it.

“What do you need me to do?”

Hux reached down to the table, picking up his tea, the mask of detachment back on.

“I need you to lose.”

So close.

Rose was so close to the edge she could feel the heat in her lower belly as she thrust two of her own fingers into the wet depths of her pussy, but close wasn’t enough. Rose needed more. It had been two days since Hux had left Rose on high alert, so to speak; a single memory of Hux could send a pulse to her vagina, causing the ache that was already there to grow stronger and take over her thoughts for the rest of the day. 

The room was still dark, not yet time for Jyn to enter with her tray and begin her morning routine; meaning Rose had time, but not too much. With her free hand, she reached over to the empty side of her large bed, plunging her hand under a set of pillows, searching for the item she knew was there. Rose let out a soft moan when her hand gripped the soft, supple leather of the glove and brought it closer. 

Rose still didn’t know what had caused Hux to show up unexpectedly a month ago, using the escape passage through Rose’s dressing room. He was like a man possessed. The pleasure she felt from the debauched things Hux had done to her body, his hot mouth tracing a path from her collar bone to the valley of her breasts only to push her not entirely gently onto the bed as he moved between her legs. Not bothering to undress her, Hux moved his gloved hands under her dress and spread her knees farther apart, just enough for his body to rest between. 

Rose remembered the way his gloved hands have pushed the lace of her undercoverings aside, how his thumbs had messaged her pussy lips as he murmured his pleasure at her being so wet already. Thinking of that particular memory, Rose pulled on the much larger glove she had stolen from him onto her own, smaller hand and Rose reached down to her overly sensitive clit, gently massaging the bundle of nerves. 

“Oh fuck YES!” Rose let out a cry while her back arched at the new sensation of the leather glove entering the finger play. Still not quite reaching her climax, Rose desperately sought the memory of how his tongue had begun penetrating her weeping depths, how his teeth nibbled at her vulva, how the inner lips of her sex quivered, and, finally how he used his nose to rub against her clit.

_“I have been thinking of this all day. Coming in here, tasting you, making you call out my name. I want to bathe in your scent, Rose…”_

Rose came so hard she was scared her father would hear. The climax hitting every single one of her senses; Rose could hear his words spoken in a gruff voice. She could feel his weight on top of her as he moved inside her. The smell and taste of his heated skin lingered still. Rose lied to herself, told herself she was not crying, rather the intensity of the climax was causing her eyes to water.

As the coital bliss and memories faded, Rose lay motionless, thinking about what had led to this moment; the datapad appearing day after her sister’s match all those years ago, delivered mysteriously by Jyn had worried her, but other than her maid, Rose had no friends of her own, Hux was giving her a lifeline. Until the datapad which had been paired with his had arrived, Rose hadn’t realized just how lonely she truly was. The small connection with another person, even one wishing to get information about her father and his business, was enough to give Rose the connection she craved.

It took a month for her to actually use the device, another before she actually felt comfortable to tell him anything about her father. Over the first year Rose tried to explain to Hux that she was kept from her father’s business, that she would never know the kind of information he wanted.

Over the years, their communications became more informal, but the conversations always followed the same pattern: talking lead to bickering which led to an arousal in Rose that she couldn’t explain.

One night, after seeing him at the training facility while meeting with Paige, Rose had, having lost all sense, invited him to join her in her quarters one night when her father was off planet; telling him about the escape door in her room. She had been lonely and Hux had filled a void in the short time they had been in communication. The first time they met in person in her own quarters they had only talked, even though Rose would have been happy if he had wanted more.

The next time he came to her under the illusion of needing information on her father, the bickering had continued, the arousal returned but this time, the two acted on it; coming together in a heated tangle of bodies. It continued from there; always a meeting, bickering then heated, passionate sex.

Rose still couldn’t come to terms with the fact that Hux was the most arrogant snob she had ever met; it didn’t matter how good the sex was, or how he made her feel safe and taken care of. That when he looked at her, she felt seen. 

He was after one thing, power, power and more power; he wanted only to possess her as if she were a prize to be won and shown off, even more than her father. She hated this trait in Baze, why was it so attractive in Armitage Hux?

_Because when he looks at you, it’s different than any other person. He doesn’t want to own you; he wants to get lost in you. Just like you want to get lost in him._

The thought was pushed away just as soon as it came, she didn’t want to think about that. Rose didn’t want to like this person. What was this feeling she had when she thought about him? 

Did she love him?

Rose let out a frustrated growl at the thought.

As her breathing returned to normal, Rose took the glove off her still trembling returning it to its home under the pillows. Rose still didn’t know what had come over her to snatch the glove in the first place. Not that it mattered, she wasn’t giving it back.

She moved from the bed and into the refresher to clean herself up before Jyn came in, musing over the status thoughts of her and Hux’s relationship, if one could call it that, like she did most mornings.

Rose took a shower to wash her body of the early morning climax she had brought herself to, having to keep herself from doing it again just remembering how good it had felt. Due to the hot spring the estate had been built on, Rose was able to wash with hot spring water, rather than the sonic showers most had. It was one of the luxuries she didn’t question about her life since being picked up by Baze Tico almost fifteen years ago. 

“Mistress. Quick, we have company.”

Jyn, her ladies made called in as Rose was dressing in her silk robe. Had Hux somehow felt her climax and come to finish what he had started days ago? Rose smiled to herself at the thought. Rose walked into her dressing room where an insistent Jyn waited.

“Please mistress, we must get you dressed,” Jyn urged hurriedly. “Master Hux is here to see your father.” 

Well that was a cold blast of air, Rose thought as she quickly stepped into a casual pant suite. 

Rose’s quarters were on the other side of the estate from her father’s. Her entire wing was isolated from everything connected to her father, not something she was unhappy about often. On a typical day Rose was pleased to be so far removed from her father’s wing of the estate. But when Hux came to the estate, she preferred to be around. She told herself the preference had nothing to do with the fact that she wanted to see his face, his impassive presence he gave the rest of the world changing instantly when he passed her on his way to his meeting. The mask of cold indifference mixed with the molten green depths of his eyes he couldn’t hide from her.

With only seconds to spare, Rose and Jyn had hurried from her quarters to the small courtyard situated between the main living areas where Baze held his meetings and Rose’s wing of the house. Knowing this would be the path Hux would take, Jyn sent Rose’s morning tray of caf, toast with jam and fruit to be waiting for them when they arrived. The dry and hot weather of Canto Bight hitting her right away but the soft breeze that came up from the bay the estate overlooked moved through her hair as Hux and company, escorted by one of her father’s underlings, walked up the steps to the patio she had only just seated herself at; moving from the path slightly to join them. Rose stood up to greet the visitors, holding out her hand for Hux to take, as was custom. 

“Lady Rose.” He took her offered hand and kissed the knuckles. Rose had to suppress a growl of arousal while maintaining a look of indifference and contempt for the man.

“Mister Hux. My condolences on the death of your father.” She said in response, feeling a Micro-Bug listening device slide into her grip.

“Yes, we are all in shock, but he had been ill for quite some time.”

“I hope he has found some peace, now.”

Rose nodded and the party was led into the house, leaving the women Rose and Jyn, alone on the patio. But Rose noticed a small wink from Mitaka to her own maid.

“Jyn Erso, you sly minx!” Rose said with a small laugh as Jyn smiled. The two then rushed back into her quarters to attach the Bug to her datapad in order to eavesdrop to the private conversation.

_“…I have come as a friend, Baze,”_ Rose heard Hux’s cool voice crackled over the speaker.

_“Friend? Armitage you have never been a friend, and you certainly aren’t here for a casual meeting. Tell me what you want then leave my property.”_

Rose always felt agitated when her father used that particular tone of voice, one of indifference but simmering with violence.

_“Fine. I shall get right to it, then. I have seen that Paige is set to fight tomorrow night, and I wanted to let you know, she will not, in fact be fighting the Lasat_.”

Rose reached to Jyn’s waiting hand at these words. She wasn’t going to fight the Lasat? Would she be going back to fighting Andor instead?

Rose heard the sounds of a chair sliding on the floor.

_“What did you just say?”_ Rose swallowed at her father’s words.

_“You heard me, Tico. I don’t want that thing to be anywhere near my ring. Zeb is known for killing in order to win. It’s just good business to keep fighters alive, wouldn’t you agree?”_ Hux answered casually, never allowing emotion to color his voice, unlike her father.

“His ring? What do you think he means by that?” Rose asked to no one in particular. The Box where the fights were always held was owned by a different syndicate, not connected to either the Hux or Tico families. They owned fighters, yes, but not the venue.

_“Your ring? Syndula owns the ring…” Baze said, attempting to gain the upper hand._

_“Not as of this morning, I have purchased it out right.”_ Silence _. “I own The Box, now and as such I control the fights. But I will make this interesting for you.” Hux corrected._

Rose held her breath.

_“Interesting? I highly doubt that.”_ Rose dug her fingernails into her palm in anticipation.

_“Paige will fight as planned; I won’t keep you from making a profit,”_ Rose felt her chest tighten at Hux’s words about her sister.

_“She will go against The Captain, instead.”_ Rose was confused. The Captain was on in her same fighting class, what was Hux playing at?

_“But, just to make it even more interesting, if Phasma wins, I hand her contract over to you, since I am banning the Lasat from the ring.”_

Rose didn’t understand. Paige was throwing the match, forced to take a dive in order to keep her loyalty to Baze. What was Hux doing offering his fighter to her father?”

_“And if my fighter wins?”_ Baze said, the words dripping in knowing satisfaction.

_“I keep Paige.”_

There were more sounds of shuffling as if people were gathering things, and then the sound of the door hissing open and closed.

Rose watched as Hux and company walked to his transport, leaving without any hesitation. Rose and Jyn looked at each other in utter sock and confusion. What was he playing at? Why purchase The Box? Hux owned one of the best fighters in the system, why did it matter if he owned the ring where they fought? Then it all became clear; if Hux owned the area that would also allow him to control the fights. Rose was coming to realize that Hux had something up his sleeve. Not just about the fight and her sister, but things were beginning to fall into place where Hux was concerned. She just couldn’t see the picture just yet.

Rose let out a frustrated breath as a soft began forcing Jyn to leave her to check on what was causing the sounds. Moments later, Jyn came out holding Rose’s secret datapad. It took another moment to secure the room for communication all the while Rose sat baffled at what she had overheard in her father’s office.

_Everything is in place. You looked absolutely stunning today, beautifully flushed, but I don’t think it had to do with the heat of the morning. Be sure to wear a dress to the match, and don’t bother to wear anything underneath. They will only be collateral damage._

_Finalizer_

**_Fight Night_ **

Hux entered the arena moments before the Ticos just as he had planned. The smug look on Baze’s face, believing he was about to take ownership of Hux’s prized fighter annoyed Hux; the fool couldn’t see a double cross if it came up and bit him on the ass. Hux had just left the woman known throughout the galaxy as The Captain in the back rooms, preparing for her fight against the woman she loved. Phasma had informed Hux that she and the other woman were clear on the plan, that Paige would give Phasma everything she had in the ring and vice versa. But Paige understood Phasma would ultimately lose allowing her to be freed of her contract with Tico.

Hux could only imagine what she was going through. Boxing in the Sector was not a clean sport; there were very little in the way of rules and regulations and knowing how Phasma fought in a normal bout, Hux felt for the woman. If positions were switched and he would need to fight Rose in order to protect her… no, he wouldn’t think that way, especially not in the terms of him being in love with her. He wasn’t in love with Rose. He was simply infatuated with her, craved her loyalty and wanted to possess her for his own.

That wasn’t love.

After Baze had walked in and seated himself in one of the owners’ boxes directly across from where Hux sat, Rose followed with her maid in tow. With her head held high, her long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulder, Hux’s breath caught in his lungs and he was rendered speechless for the first time in his life. 

Rose was wearing the single most sinful dress that had ever been created: blood red velvet wrapped around her waist, shoulders, and hips. The dress was slit high up one side revealing the creamy flesh of Rose’s thigh, with a small train and cape trailing behind and a cinched at the waist with a gold belt. Hux gripped the arm rests of his seat and felt himself harden. If she followed his direction on wearing a dress, did that mean she also was bare under it? 

Hux finally had to look away or he would end up coming in his own pants. 

Rose sat in her father’s box and looked across, catching his heated gaze. 

Hux couldn’t help the small brow raised in question to her, but the slow nod and hiking up of her dress in answer pushed him to the limit. Thankfully the lights dropped, and the fighters came to the ring. 

“Is everything in order?” he leaned closer to the man sitting next to him. 

“Of course, sir. Jyn has been notified and Cal is in place to make the extraction.”

Hux looked over at his man at the mention of the woman he had feelings for and he was sorry she would be brought into this, but for the plan to work, it had to look real.

Hux gave a quick nod as the fight began.

_No going back now._

He thought to himself as the bell rang and Phasma threw her first punch connecting with Paige’s face.

Everything happened so quickly that Rose’s head was still spinning as she was thrust into a waiting transport outside the area. The fight had been over almost as soon as it had begun, The Captain going down in the fourth round: unheard of.

_“Come with me, don’t make a scene,”_ The low masculine voice was the last thing Rose remembered hearing before all hell let loose and she was gripped tightly around the arm and pulled away from what was sure to be an all out cluster fuck in a matter or moments. 

The transport she was in had no windows and the dim light in the cabin was not enough to let Rose know who else was with her, but she knew she wasn’t alone. 

“What is happening? What is going on? I am Rose Tico; I deserve to know where I am being taken.”

Out of the shadows emerged a man that could have been Hux’s twin if Rose didn’t know any better. With shaggy hair, slightly darker than Hux’s light ginger and a full beard, the man looked fierce, but Rose never got the overt feeling of intimidation.

“My name is Cal, I have been instructed to escort you to safety.” The man said in a very calm but firm voice before he moved back in his seat allowing the shadows to hide his face.

“Instructed by who, Cal? Who sent you? Do you work for my father?” she asked attempting to be just as calm as the man in front of her was but knowing she was failing.

Her fellow passenger never spoke again until Rose felt the transport begin to slow down. The trip hadn’t taken long which meant there was no way she was being taken to her house. Did her father have a safe house in the city? She hadn’t ever heard that he had, but then again, she didn’t always pay attention to what her father did and didn’t do with his business. The transport came to a full stop and the door was opened, Cal exiting the transport first, then allowing Rose to exit after.

“Master Cal, shall I take the lady from here?” Rose saw a shiny black protocol droid enter the small garage area they had pulled into. Rose looked around hoping to find something, anything that would tell her where she was.

“No, I will take her. See to the bags.” Cal escorted Rose onto the waiting turbo lift never looking at her while they ascended higher into the building she had been taken to.

“I hope there’s someone who can tell me what the fuck is happening when I get off this lift.” Rose seethed as the ride came to a stop; the doors opening to an open room where she was greeted by a massive black and white room with overly large sofas in the center, a bar on one wall, and a balcony with its doors open to the side. 

“Hello?” she called out but was answered by the same silence she had been greeted by when she exited the lift. Rose walked around trying to get her bearings but was still on high alert from the match that she uneasy. Rose took a deep breath attempting to calm her nerves, the scent of expensive soap and leather mixed with the sweet floral scent from the multiple vases of fresh red roses filled her senses.

“Hux.” She whispered.

Rose walked to the balcony hoping he was out there waiting for her, but there was nothing, saved for a tray with a bottle of Corellian champagne and two glasses placed on a table. 

After moving to the balcony wall, Rose looked out at the pitch-black sky, the only lights the ones from the city and casino; somewhere was her father’s mountain estate. She thought about how far the house really was to the city of Canto Bight; how rarely she was allowed to come into town.

Leaning on the edge of the balcony wall she thought about her life up until this moment and realized how much she dreaded the probability she would have to go back to a house that felt so much like a prison.

A gilded cage still had bars.

Hux had been looking, though not seeing, out the window of his transport, but as it turned onto the street and the town home’s main garage came into view, he snapped to attention.

“STOP!” he commanded. The droid pilot stopped the transport and Hux jumped out, not caring he was in the middle of the street. 

“Sir, please we are almost inside. It’s not safe, yet,” he heard Mitaka call out to him, but Hux didn’t care. He walked closer to the building but kept on the opposite side of the street, staying in the shadows.

During their time together, Hux had always gone to Rose; it was safer, in a way, for him to be seen going to her father’s house, than for Rose to be seen alone in the city, coming to his home. When he began to put this plan together, the first thing he obsessed over was where was the safest place for Rose would be. The only place he wanted her, the only place he needed her, was in his home. 

As he turned the corner of the grounds, approached the house, and looked up, taking in the sight of Rose standing on the balcony, leaning on the wall, the light from the city making her beautiful face glow as if she were some galactic angel, Hux’s heart melted. 

Hux raced inside, the turbolift waiting on him as he entered the building. He sent a message to Mitaka that he was not to be disturbed until Hux contacted him the next morning, afternoon, evening, Hux didn’t give a shit. He was planning to spend the entire night with his Rose, and he would kill the first person who would think to disturb them. 

Hux nodded to Cal who was standing in front of the door protecting the woman inside. Hux would deal with the strings that came attached to her new Force wielding guard being there later; Crimson Dawn would want their pound of flesh. But, right now, Rose was in his home and for the first time in his life, Hux was not in full control of his own thoughts.

Cal hit the button to let Hux into his own home, allowing the man to enter. When the doors closed behind him, Hux walked straight to the balcony and stopped short at the sight; Rose, leaning over the side, the view in front of him far more beautiful then the city in the distance. Her pert, tight rear softly swaying as she bent over. Hux had planned to take things slowly, to tell her his plans and maybe even have dinner with her before they went to his bed. But this sight was too much for him to think about anything else.

Hux walked out to the balcony and, after letting out a strangled hiss, placed his hands on her hips pulling her back against his hard length.

“I had plans to woo you tonight. But if I don’t feel you against me right now, to let me know you’re alright, I will lose my fucking mind.

He began to nip her ear as she pressed back into his hips, causing his breath to hitch.

“Woo me? What the fuck does that mean?” Rose asked, reaching behind her to cupped his erection as he thrust into her hand. 

“It doesn’t fucking matter,” he bit down on the spot where her shoulder met her neck, causing her to moan in pleasure.

Hux wrapped his hands around her waist tighter, bringing her upper body to meet his almost embracing her. He felt them the small tremble running through her body and understood this wasn’t entirely about passion.

“Are you alright?” he whispered into her ear still holding her. The possibility that she was fearful of him, that he had gone too far with her scared Hux more than anything right at that moment.

After long moments she wrapped her own arms around the ones encircling her and leaned her head back on his chest.

“I don’t like to feel powerless, Armitage. Tonight, I felt powerless,” Rose reached back to cup the side of his face, rubbing her thumb over his sharp cheek bone. 

Rose shifted in his hold, turning to face him while his arms keeping her inside his tight hold.

“Don’t do it again.”

“Yes, my Lady.” He answered as the need to lean down and claim her lips overtook him; something that they had not truly done since the first night they met all those years ago. A stolen kiss in a dark room. Why had they not kissed since then, he wondered as he staired at her lips.

“I want to fuck you, Rose,” Hux grinned at the fire in her dark brown eyes at his words. “I want to drive into you right here, bend you over this wall and I don’t care who sees?” He noticed her breathing began to quicken as he described what he wanted to do to her. He brought one gloved hand to her face cupping her cheek; his thumb rubbing over her lower lip.

“But more than anything, I want to kiss you.” Her mouth closed around the digit as it works its way in, her tongue circling around the leather-clad intruder; only to pull away before her teeth clamped down.

“You have to earn a kiss, Armitage. Prove to me you’re worth it.” Rose responded as she turned around in his hold again, placing her hands on the railing in front of her. 

Hux smiled at the challenge; he would earn that kiss if it killed him. But for now, Hux would do the next best thing. 

His gloved hand reached under her dress, parting the slit at her thigh to coax her legs farther apart, the other hand desperately attempting to unfasten his own trousers, finally freeing his cock from its silk confines. 

“You’re totally bare, you didn’t wear anything else…” he said with a gruff voice he didn’t recognize.

“My underthings are very expensive.” Hux’s forehead collapsed onto the top of Rose’s head at her words.

Hux moved the fabric of her dress farther to one side, getting his first view of the perfect round globe of her ass. He had had so many fantasies about her ass, how he loved watching it move when she walked, how it looked from just this angle as he thrust his cock into her. Hux was convinced Rose Tico’s ass just made just for him to look upon. 

“And here I was ready to punish you for not obeying.” He gently smacked one of the round cheeks before he thrust inside making them both groan in outright pleasure.

“Oh, fuck Armitage.”

Rose would lose herself in him if she wasn’t careful. They had never had sex in public, hell they had never had sex outside her room. With all of the many thoughts running through her head; the match and the chaos after the fight. Rose’s anger at him for not being told what would happen so she could prepare. But none of this mattered right then, there was nothing more important right at that moment than Armitage Hux driving into her; filling her mind body and soul. 

Rose felt a warm breeze drift over her bare backside as she felt the hot of the head of his dick pushed through her slick folds and into her body. Fuck, but she loved this feeling; Armitage entering her so slowly because he was so close to the edge himself. 

Rose felt his soft, gloved hands grip her hips as Hux stilled once he was fully sheathed within her.

“Armitage, please…” she whispered as a soft plea falling off her lips.

“Fuck Rose, you feel so good,” Hux gritted out past clenched teeth. Rose turned her face over her shoulder to see his, a mask of pain mixed with pleasure, his upper lip was drawn upwards almost in a snarl as he attempted to catch his breath.

Just as Rose was about to beg him again, Hux started moving his hips, strong and slow thrusting in and out of her body sending her closer to her own climax. The feel of his leather gloves tightening on his hips was exquisite; Rose had come to need the feel of the leather on her skin, a tactile drug she didn’t know if she could live without. 

It didn’t take long for Rose to need more, her climax just within reach. Even to her ears the whimpers and moans of pleasure coming out of her mouth did not sound like anything that had ever come from her own throat. 

“Fuck, Hux, Fuck, please, I’m so close…” she had never pleaded with him before, but there were many things about tonight that seemed to be changing between them; pleading for her own climax seemed to be par for the course now. 

The pleading cry coming out of Rose’s mouth had Hux push into overdrive. He reached around and began messaging her clit, one touch of his gloved hand at the pearl at the top of her sex had her exploding into her climax, her pussy milking a his cock, his own pressure building within his body. Tension started at the base of his cock and scrotum, then a euphoric explosion made him go blind for a moment, all but collapsing on top of Rose’s back. 

Moments later after releasing inside of her body, Hux pulled out and looked at the mess he had made of her. Typically, he won’t have cared, he would see the sheen of sweat and cum on her skin as a brand, a possession of her; but right then, the idea of her cooling off and the their shared juices drying on her petal soft skin upset Hux more than he was comfortable thinking about. 

“Don’t move,” Without thinking, Hux stripped his shirt and used the silk to clean her up, tenderly wiping through the inside of her sex and down her thighs until all of his seaman was off her skin while she was gently held up by both the balcony wall and his shoulder. Hux felt the gentle caresses of Rose’s hand running through his hair while he went though his motions between her thighs.   
Hux tossed the shirt, not caring about the cost to him and righted her clothing; covering her body with the dress again and lifted her in his arms. While carrying Rose to his sleeping quarters, Hux thought about all the things he would do to her that night, all the things he wanted to do for her the next day, and most importantly all the things he wished to do with her the rest of his life.

Hux placed her on feet on the floor, undressed her, licking his lips at the sight of her naked body under the evil dress from that night. Once out of her clothing, he leaned down to the bed, folding the sheet and blanket back to allow her to get into the bed. 

“Thank you,” He heard Rose whisper as she sat on the bed, kicking her shoes off and folding herself into the protective pocket Hux had created for her in the bed. Hux wasn’t sure if the appreciation was from the mind-blowing sex they had just had or from the earlier events of the night. But he did know it didn’t matter, he wasn’t finished with her, not tonight, not ever.

Hux walked to the other side of the bed, stripped his own clothing and climbing into bed as well, wrapping the blankets around both of them.

Hux tucked her into his body and held her for just a moment. He had never had the chance to hold Rose like this, had never really felt he had the right to. But now that Rose was there, he knew he would never let her go. 

All too soon, Rose pulled away from his hold, giving him a direct, unblinking stare.

“I think it’s time you told me your plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is enjoying GingerRose Week 2020 so far! Let me know what you think going forward!


	3. Undercover Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath Part 1: We learned what Jyn knowns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I have to thank you Beta Brit for her invaluable help on this story! Part of me thinks I'm just writing it for her and you guys are getting the reaping the benefits!

Even before opening her eyes, Jyn Erso felt the most delicious sensation; her body was being gently coaxed awake, the devious man marking a path from her breast, down and across her belly, making his way past her hips to the top of her mound. Jyn bit her lip with a quick inhale as her hand reached under the sheet and connected with the top of the man’s head whose tongue began licking at lips of her sex, making her squirm beneath him. 

“We don’t have time…” she tried to protest to his ministrations, but even to her ears the protest it sounded half-hearted. 

“Nonsense;” the man between her legs answered only after leaving a hot, wet kiss on her hip bone.

“they are still asleep, and,” a soft nip to her lower belly, “I have been informed if I attempt to wake them before called, I will be killed and then fired,” Dopheld Mitaka emerged from under the sheet upwards and over her body, giving her the single most wicked smile Jyn had ever seen. “In that order.”

Not giving her a chance to respond, Mitaka leaned down and kissed her, taking strong possession of her mouth. Jyn reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and circled her legs around the man’s hips, rolling them over; her legs now straddling his body. 

Jyn broke the kiss and sat up, giving her a moment to look down at the man beneath her; despite Jyn’s attempts to keep him from it, Dopheld Mitaka had somehow worked his way into her heart, taking up permanent residence.

“And who are we to go against orders,” Jyn said, reaching between them to grip Mitaka’s fully erect cock, placing the tip at her entrance and working the shaft into her wet depths.

With a soft moan Jyn began moving, each undulation of her hips getting him deeper inside; the exquisite friction pushing her higher as she got into a rhythm. 

One of Mitaka’s hands moved from her hips where he had been keeping her steady on top of his body, cupping the rounded swell of her breast, gently kneading the flesh and giving the already pebbled nipple a firm pinch; the sharp burst of pain sending a pulse of electricity to her pussy , Jyn let out a soft whimper of pleasure. She increased her movements, feeling her climax rise inside of her. 

“I’m close, I’m close…” Jyn whispered as Mitaka’s hand moved from her breast to where their two bodies met, his thumb rubbing against the over sensitive pearl hidden beneath her folds sending Jyn over the edge after only movements of Mitaka’s soft strumming. 

“Yes!” Jyn cried out, tossing her head back and letting the exquisite pleasure wash over her.

Before she could calm down, her partner stole that moment of calm to change their positions; adjusting to connect her back to the mattress with Mitaka thrusting deep and sure into her still pulsing body. The change in position and his shuttling inside of her causing another burst of pleasure to hit Jyn when he exploded into her. 

Minutes passed as they lay in Mitaka’s bed, their shared breathing returning to normal, Jyn gave into her thoughts, thinking about everything that had to this moment; the years of subterfuge and clandestine meetings with the man now wrapped around her, in back rooms at the Tico estate when Hux would visit; sometimes she and Mitaka would meet in the city at night where no one would see them, or question why servants of supposedly waring households were meeting. 

Jyn remembered the day, four years ago, she had been approached by Mitaka in the marketplace while Rose had been attending to her sister after the fight the night before; recalling the feeling of being summoned rather than asked to have a meeting with his employer, little did Jyn know that hot day so long ago she would have ended up here; Mitaka’s rapidly cooling body molded around hers protectively from behind. 

“I will have to leave soon; I hope I have a chance to say my goodbyes to Rose,” she said tightening her hold on his arms holding her to him, trying to pull her even closer to him. Jyn didn’t mean to fall in love with Dopheld Mitaka; the feelings, like everything else where he was concerned, had just shown up one day.

“You could stay here,” Mitaka murmured following a silent moment, kissing the back of her neck softly. “I could speak with Hux, he could rework his strategy. He’s done it before,” His voice became softer, more desperate as he continued.

“You can stay with me and I could protect you.”

In recent months, the scheme put in motion all those years ago had, finally, reached its turning point; Jyn had always been aware it would probably be she who would be the one to make the preparations for Hux’s final play. She only wished it wouldn’t put Rose in danger.

Jyn was raised on the streets with only a small crew to care for her. A young girl in Canto Bight learned fast how to take care of herself; and even then, you knew to carry a blade with you at all times. Rose hadn’t had this education; protected by an older sister, then picked up off the streets and brought into a heavily secured home.

Jyn had worked with her over the years, teaching her how to use a blade, how to get out of the hold of a much larger man. Her sister, Paige, and her partner and fellow fighter, Phasma, had even given her boxing lessons a few times.

Rose was smart, quick and over the years Jyn had learned she was not someone to be ignored; when Rose wanted something, she fought for it. Jyn just hoped that fighting spirit would be enough to get her through what she would have to do to survive and come out on the other side unscathed.

Jyn turned in Mitaka’s arms putting them face to face. She reached up to cup his cheek, her thumb gently stroking his soft skin as he turned to kiss the inside of her palm.

“And there’s no one else I trust with my life, but I have to do my part,” Jyn had a job and she would finish it come hell or high water. “We are so close to the end of this ordeal. Soon we will be together, and all will be well.”

A small light flashed in the room, indicating Hux was awake; the reminder her and Mitaka weren’t alone to live their lives as a normal couple. Jyn leaned in and kissed the man she loved one more time before moving to get out of the bed she wished to stay in the rest of her life. 

As she moved through the room, Jyn reminded herself why she was doing this; Rose.

When Jyn was hired ten years previous, Baze Tico had written her employment contract to span a ten-year period. Jyn had always assumed she would sign a new one after when the contract was over; being uneducated in such matters, Jyn didn’t think twice on it. 

It wasn’t until she spoke to Mister Tico’s personal body man, Von, a supervisor of sorts, about her upcoming contract deadline that she began to suspect something was wrong. Von informed her in a few months her services would not be required.

The week after speaking with Von, Jyn stumbled on the reason why her services would no longer be required; the reason so horrific that Jyn wanted to scream, vomit and kill just hearing the words.

It was a common occurrence for Jyn to pass by Baze Tico’s office suite; she was a servant and without any knowledge of situations of their business so the occupents in the offices never kept their voices down but Jyn never had any reason to care about what they discussed. Until Jyn heard Rose’s name spoken; this was unusual, he was not one to speak about her unless it had to do with her sister, Paige and the agreement he had with her, or Baze was needing to parade her around like the pet he kept her as.

In this case, however, neither were the reason for him to bring his daughter up in conversation. Jyn had not been privy to who he was on the call with, but the subject was clear; Baze Tico was going to have his daughter sold off to the highest bidder in order to pay off debts he had acquired and was in no position to pay back.

Jyn remembered the anger and pain after she snuck out of the estate heading towards the city to meet with Hux that night what she had over-heard coming from Baze’s own mouth; the room seemed to fill with cold air, radiating off of the man as he sat at his desk. 

_“I always knew he was a cold, unfeeling bastard, but I didn’t think he had this in him.”_ She remembered Hux snarling. 

Since that day in Hux’s office three months ago, Jyn had been a spy in the Tico household, passing places and dates of meetings he would be having with rival syndicates. Crimson Dawn prevailed as the favorite for Baze, closely followed by a group she hadn’t heard of called Kanjiklub. But Crimson Dawn were the most interested in doing business with Tico as they held the most of Baze’s debt, having multiple meetings through a holo-link as well as sending emissaries. Jyn was careful to have plans with Rose away from the estate on that day.

The light began flashing again, more insistent this time; Jyn watched Mitaka run to the intercom system. Jyn made herself scarce as he spoke to his lord, using the refresher and reemerging fully dressed. 

“…yes, she is still here, shall I…” she heard Mitaka say into the commlink. “Alright, yes, of course sir, right away.”

Mitaka disconnected the link as Jyn regarded him, still gloriously naked, not having time to dress as he answered his lord’s call. 

“Shall I help you with her tray?” Jyn asked beginning to pick through the bag she packed for Rose’s time in the penthouse. She pulled out a white silk robe, Rose’s favorite, and laid it over her arm.

He walked towards her, taking the silk from her, placing it on his bed. Mitaka reached out, circling her once again, kissing her deep. 

“I need to leave, I should be in the house before everyone else is awake,” she interjected before he could change her mind. 

“I don’t like you going in there alone.” Mitaka stated, mater of fact.

Jyn smiled sadly at his words; damn but she loved him.

“I will be fine. It will only be a few days, perhaps less,” she sighed in response.

After telling him how Rose took her caf, sweet with a splash of cream, and another long kiss goodbye, Jyn left, returning to the estate located high in the mountains. Mitaka had set up a transport for her to take as well as gave her a blade and a blaster, should things get bad. 

_“I love you. If anything happens call me immediately and I will come.”_

Jyn thought of his parting words; the terms of endearment were new to them, but they spoke them so easily now. The transport came to a stop at the base of the mountain where the escape tunnel was located; the same tunnel Hux used to visit Rose’s chambers. 

Exiting the transport quickly Jyn began to trek up the tunnel towards the house. There were so many things to prepare for; Jyn just needed to hold out for a little longer. A few more days and this would all be over.

Mitaka watched as the transport carried away the woman he loved; watching for it to turn the corner and leave his sight before returning to the back entrance at the Hux residential complex, the turbo lift taking him directly to the top floor where his lord and guest were safely situated. 

Stepping off the lift and entering the apartment, Mitaka was busy thinking of the small things he needed to get together for the larger than normal tray in the kitchen when he heard the arguing from the sleeping quarters located in the back of the penthouse. He quickly picked up the white silk robe which he had placed on a soft hanger and entered the bed chamber, filled with female shouting.

“…you had me kidnaped, Armitage! You had a strange man pick me up, toss me in a transport… how the fuck was I supposed to know where he was taking me and that he was working for you?”

Lady Rose Tico, the aforementioned shouting female was wrapped in a sheet, the satin covering her body standing in the center of the chamber; the man on the receiving end was sitting on the bed at the back of the room, the blanket covering low across his obviously naked hips, taking the shouting in stride. 

Mitaka knew his employer, Hux was a good man who had this woman’s best interest at heart. But she had gone through a traumatic event the night before and Mitaka felt Hux deserved to be yelled at. If only to remind him the lady was capable to stand on her own two feet.

However, if Mitaka didn’t know better, Hux might have actually been enjoying being yelled at by this fiery woman. 

“And how the fuck did you get involved with Crimson Dawn? They are gangsters, Armitage? That’s not who you are.”

Mitaka noticed Hux sit up a little straighter, body stiffening at the name of the syndicate. 

“I will be happy to tell you everything, Rose, including about Crimson Dawn. But you have to trust me when I tell you I have everything under control.” Hux answered as measured as he could be, but Mitaka had a feeling the string was being pulled a little too taught and he was getting ready to burst.

Mitaka placed the robe he had been carrying in the dressing room off to the side, it was the only speck of color in the room, save for the red roses; only the black silks, wools and leathers filled the space, and much like Lady Tico changed Hux, the simple garment altered the aesthetic of the room entirely, softening it. 

Mitaka moved Hux’s robe into position at the front with the lady’s robe and exited the dressing room, the one-sided argument continuing around him.

“…and I _hate_ that I am so turned on by you just sitting there in that bed, looking all lazy and delicious. Your stupid fucking beautiful face with that scruff,”

Mitaka looked at his lord at these words, one ginger eyebrow going up at her words. Only to be met with a frustrated feminine howl before stomping off. 

“Well, that could have gone better,” Hux murmured from the bed. 

Mitaka couldn’t help but smile.

“I hope _your_ lady is in better spirits,” Hux stud up and walked to his dressing room, coming out moments later in his black silk robe. 

“Yes, sir,” Mitaka knew he had a dumb smile on his face as he spoke, but he didn’t care. He loved her and he wanted to tell everyone. “She has left back to the house. Jyn promised to let us know if anything changes.”

The two men stopped as a still irate Lady Rose came back into the room walking past the two, stopping to look around confused. Mitaka moved into the dressing room quickly, reaching for the robe and handing her the white silk. Taking it from Mitaka and giving Hux another glare, she stormed off again in the direction of the kitchen.

Mitaka heard his lord muffle a laugh as he watched her march off. 

“I think it best to prepare her tray before we begin your shave, sir.”

“Yes.” Mitaka began to move in the direction of the kitchen, “Actually, on second thought, let’s skip the shave today.” Hux moved his hand to his face, rubbing his palm over the growth of hair stubbled on his cheeks.

“The lady seems to like my scruffy appearance. I’d hate to disappoint her…” Hux said with a sly smile.

“Of course, Sir. I’ll prepare the trays, then.” Mitaka smiled and headed towards the small kitchen. Hux rarely ate at home, the casino and surrounding restaurants were universally well known, and he enjoyed the meals prepared for him. Knowing this about himself, when Hux designed the penthouse for his own personal use, the need of a large kitchen with a series of chef droids were obsolete. Instead, he allowed for a small sonic sink with fresh water, the only in the complex, a heating element for the kettle and a small cooling unit to keep milk and small food items fresh. 

The room itself was made for one person on a good day; Lady Rose standing in its center made the area even smaller. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know where else to go,” she said a little embarrassed. “I didn’t want to go back out there… but I don’t know where anything is.” Mitaka watched as she leaned back on the counter right in front of the heating element, the exact place he needed to be.

“I was actually looking for the refresher,” she said with a small smile.

“The fresher is through the living area and to the left, Lady Rose.” Mitaka gestured to the area.

“Please call me Rose. We both know I’m no Lady.” Mitaka watched as she wrapped her arms around herself, looking down at the floor. She had changed from the black satin sheet, which now lay in an inky pool on the floor, and into the white robe Jyn had brought for her.

“You are a Lady to my lord, which makes you a lady to me,” she looked up at him with sad eyes. “but if you wish me to call you something else, it will be my pleasure, Rose.”

She moved again in the small space allowing Mitaka to begin the tray preparation. 

“You’ve been with him a long time, haven’t you?” she asked hesitantly.

“Almost twenty years, mistress.” He answered while pouring water into the kettle.

“He wants me to trust him with my life,” she continued. “I’ve learned it’s better to not to trust anyone with anything. If I can’t take care of it myself, then I don’t need it.” Mitaka had a feeling she wasn’t really talking to him, but rather saying her own thoughts out loud.

“I mean I trust Paige, and Phasma, to an extent, but then again she works for Hux, though, doesn’t she?” Mitaka felt what she was saying deep in his soul; why should she trust someone who had only ever, at least on the exterior, had his own agendas in play all this time? What had he shown her to help prove that he was trustworthy? 

Mitaka took this question to heart and chose then to ask the one question he had a feeling she would not ask herself.

“Mistress, may I speak freely?” She nodded in answer.

“Has he done anything to you that would give you any feeling he is only out for his own gain?” Mitaka asked, not wishing to push her, only gage her response. 

He watched as Rose thought on this for long moments.

“Not that I can think of off the top of my head,” Mitaka watched as Rose hopped up on the small counter. “but what’s to say this isn’t all a game and he’s just using me?” Rose looked down at her hands clasped in her lap in front of her.

“That would kill me.” She whispered so softly Mitaka almost missed it.

“I cannot tell you what is in Master Hux’s head, but I do know he thinks of you in the highest esteem.” Mitaka began slicing fruit, handing her a slice to nibble on while he finished.

“I was so scared last night, Mitaka; I thought something had happened to him,” Mitaka’s heart almost burst at the admission of her fear for him. 

“The lights went out, I lost track of him in the commotion; then the next thing I knew I was being lifted and tossed into the back of a transport by a stranger...”

Mitaka knew Hux loved this woman, had loved her since the moment he saw her walking down the stairs five years ago, but until this moment, Mitaka worried it was one-sided and she would not reciprocate his feelings to the same extent.

“If I may, mistress, he battled with that for hours, he looked at every angle to see if there was a better way to get you out of the area but could not see any other option.” Mitaka finished the tray, placing on it two cups and saucers, a pot of tea and a carafe of caf with milk, toast and jam, and finishing with some sliced fruit before turning to the woman now back on her feet.

“Then I guess it’s time for him to fill me in,” Rose said, a tight smile on her face. Mitaka nodded and smiled at her eagerness to be let in on his lord’s multi-layered plan. She turned on her heel to walk out of the kitchen only to stop suddenly, making Mitaka almost run into her, stopping right at the last moment.

“And don’t think I’m going to let you get away with NOT telling me about you and Jyn,” she lifted the collar of her robe indicating her knowledge of the other woman’s presence in the apartment at some point and looked at Mitaka in mock disapproval.

“I know she was here last night. And I know she was with you,” she jabbed a finger into his chest glowering at him. “She’s my only friend, if you hurt her, just remember she taught me how to use a blade!”

Mitaka tried to hide a smile. Hurt Jyn, the only woman he has ever loved? He would rather die than make her shed one tear on his account. But Mitaka liked that the lady was so protective of her maid, making him more protective of Rose.

“Understood.” Mitaka answered with a sharp nod. Rose turned around and headed towards the balcony where Hux was seated; walking outside and joining him on the terrace. 

“Ok, Armitage,” she sat down, kicking her feet up on the empty chair next to her. “talk.” 

After placing the tray down on the table in front of them, and preparing each cup for the pair, Mitaka turned back to tidy up the kitchen and prepare for the next stage in the plan. He had bags to pack, hotel rooms to reserve and transports to hire. 

But first, maybe he would check to see that Jyn got home safely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are liking this story. Let me know what you think in the comments! they really do help my plotting for further chapters and stories!


	4. Memories of Ginger Fur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose learns the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I want to thank Brit for helping me with this story and for being my most ardent fan of this story!!!

_“I think it’s time you told me your plan.”_

The last words Rose had spoken to Hux the night before were the first ones he thought of the next morning. 

The room was dark, the blackout shutters still covering the floor to ceiling wall of windows which lead out to the balcony. The same balcony where he had taken Rose so brazenly; driving into her from behind without a care in the world how she would look to the people below as she climaxed, coming apart in his arms; his name torn from her lips as he came inside of her, branding her body and soul as his. 

From the moment he saw Rose all those years ago, Hux knew she belonged with him, and he with her; this was never in doubt as they met, bantered and eventually began a physical relationship that transcended space and time. Hux had never once bothered to ask if he were Rose’s first, it didn’t matter to him; he would do everything in his power be her last and only.

The woman folded against him at that moment was the single most important being in the galaxy and Hux would kill anyone who would take her from him; including her father. 

Originally, the death of Baze Tico hadn’t been in the plan even after the newest information given by Jyn about the debt payoff. He wanted the man to suffer, death would be too kind for the likes of a man who would sell off another human to pay off what he owed. 

_“I will tell you everything you wish to know, I promise. Just, please Rose, let me hold you tonight. I will explain everything in the morning.”_

Hux’s answer to her demand had appeased her, or perhaps the adrenaline from the evening’s events and the cataclysmic sex on the terrace had made her more pliant to his request because she hadn’t pushed him farther; falling asleep in his arms almost immediately.

Hux smiled into the dark room as a soft snore came from the still sleeping woman wrapped in his arms, the sound making Hux smile.

Shifting slightly, Hux lifted one of his hands to graze her bare arm, reveling in the feel of her soft skin. The thick curtain of black silk she dared call hair fanned out across the pillow she laid on, the scent driving Hux mad. This was how he had always wanted Rose, safe and in his bed with the outside world held at bay if only for the time being. 

In the years they had had a physical relationship, Hux had never once slept over, even when he knew the house was empty of Tico employees. Other than Jyn, Hux was careful to never let anyone guess he and Rose had a less than superficial relationship. Even his own father thought Rose out of his purview of romantic partners. 

If Hux were honest with himself, he never really needed to communicate with Rose for information on her father’s business dealings; the few times Hux had been on the estate grounds with his Breandol, Mitaka had laid undetectable micro-bugs around the house. The desire to be in contact with Rose, however, drove Hux to do more than one crazy thing over the years; the private datapads with which they could communicate being one of them. 

The first time he traveled to see Rose, nothing had happened, just a conversation revolving around a shipment of weapons meant to be delivered to Kanjiklub she had overheard the day before. The conversations quickly devolved into their typical bickering; Rose calling him a classist asshole with his head in the clouds, and Hux snapping back, calling her a spoiled princess that wouldn’t know dedication and determination if it bit her in the arm. 

Hux had left Rose that day frustrated in more ways than one; it had been the first time they had been alone together since that night at her party, the night he had kissed her, and she had taken up residence in the forefront of his mind. The instant Hux had seen Rose standing in the main living area of her quarters, having just walked through the private dressing room with the scent of her overwhelming his senses, was almost too much. Hux wanted to run to her, take her in his arms and finish the kiss they had started all those years ago. 

But instead he left the estate angry at himself for allowing this snipe of a woman to get under his skin, infiltrating his mind to the point he couldn’t think straight.

Once back in the city, Hux had exited the transport, entered the lift to take him to his penthouse and as soon he was in his own quarters Hux had begun stripping out of his clothing, leaving a trail of silk and leather leading to his refresher; once naked, he stepped under the sonic shower and took himself in hand. Hux became even angrier at himself when it only took a few rough strokes up and down the brutally hard shaft before he gave into the pressure building in his body, exploding onto the shower wall while he called out her name on a strangled cry. 

But none of the past mattered now, not when Rose began to shift in her sleep against him, the rear that had been tucked against his hips bringing his body to life. Hux leaned down to kiss her bare shoulder as one of his hands began to slowly caress Rose’s hip, making its way down her thigh, and back up to the apex of her legs, finding silky wetness.

A wicked smile spread across Hux’s face as a soft moan came from Rose; his hand spreading her legs while his mouth began to work its way up her neck. 

“Armitage…” bubbled from her lips while her hand reached behind to capture Hux’s head, carding her fingers through his hair as she moved closer to him.

“Yes, Rose,” she shifted one of her legs farther apart, giving him better access; one finger entering her wet heat followed by a second. 

“What does my Goddess want?”

Goddess?

His goddess? Rose became fully awake at that word, not sure what exactly he meant by it; she was his Goddess? Since when? And more to the point, did she want to be his Goddess?

His fingers were deep inside of her, filing her as she felt his thick erection at her backside; the desire for him inside of her was overriding her senses, but Rose couldn’t stop those words from ringing in her head.

_“Goddess…”_

“Armitage…” she felt his fingers slip from her entrance only to be replaced by his cock, the tip hot and immediately pushing past the lips of her aching pussy.

She wanted him, she wanted what he was offering more than anything, but Rose knew if she didn’t take control of the situation, she would be lost to him forever. He promised her answers and she was not going to let this man and his magic fingers make her forget that.

Rose tilted her hips slightly, keeping his cock from entering fully.

“Don’t think I have forgotten about last night,” she said making Hux still at her words. “You promised me you would tell me everything.”

Rose heard Hux take a deep breath, attempting to gain his sense of control back but the subtle tightening of his fingers on her hip told Rose he was far from in control. 

“And I will, once I’ve made both of us come, I will tell you what you want to know,” Rose felt his hips shift slightly, needing to get closer to her heat.

“Or you could tell me something now,” Rose responded back, moving farther from him. The bed was enormous, giving her the space to make this power play drag on if need be.

“What would you like to know?” Hux answered with gritted teeth after another attempt at a calming breath.

“Who was the man in the transport?” This wasn’t the question pressing on her mind, but if he answered this one honestly, she would be happy to give in to the carnal desires they both had.

One of Hux’s hands moved her hair farther from her shoulder, giving him more bare skin to devourer with his mouth.

“Cal Kestis. He is on loan to me from Crimson Dawn,” his lips made contact with the sensitive spot behind her ear; but it was too late, Rose’s body had gone cold.

Crimson Dawn? Was he mad? Crimson Dawn was a crim syndicate that had the foulest of reputations throughout the galaxy; even Rose’s father feared them and their leader Qi’ra, a ruthless woman who ruled with no mercy. 

Rose jerked from Hux’s hold and out of the bed, taking the sheet with her. After wrapping herself in the black, inky fabric, she moved to the middle of the room, pacing the floor.

Crimson Dawn? She couldn’t have misjudged Hux so badly, could she?

As she paced, she saw the man lazily sit up in the bed, draping a black blanket over his still hard cock, then reached over and press a button on the bedside table. To Hux’s credit, he allowed her to work through her thoughts without interruption. 

All the fear and anxiety from the night before hit Rose like a punch to the face; she began to shake as she thought about the events that transpired. Rose always felt anxiety at watching her sister fight, it didn’t matter she was a universally ranked boxer who never lost but having to watch her sister take blows to her face so bad that sometimes it took days to recover upset Rose more than she would ever admit. 

But last night’s fight was even more painful to endure than those Rose had seen before, seeing Paige walk out to the ring only to be met by Phasma, the woman she loved; only then did Rose come to realize Hux had listened to her, had listened and helped her and her sister. Hux had somehow fixed the match so Paige wouldn’t have to fight the Lasat and saving her life.

“I don’t know what to think right now Armitage,” Rose couldn’t stop herself form moving back and forth in the room, the built-up energy needing to come out somehow.

“You somehow fix it to where my sister doesn’t have to fight that beast, saving her life, but still make her fight the woman she loves.”

“Wait, you knew about them? How am I just learning about this?” Hux asked quietly, looking confused. But Rose didn’t answer, she was too lost in her own head.

“And then miraculously, Paige wins? And I can’t even be shocked, surprised or have any reaction because suddenly the lights go out, the place goes into to chaos,” distantly, Rose heard the soft hum of the door to the room opening, Mitaka moving with something white in his hand.

“You were always safe,” Hux Insists.

“…you had me kidnaped, Armitage!” Rose yelled at him not able to keep her fear and pain inside any longer. “You had a strange man pick me up, toss me in a transport… how the fuck was I supposed to know where he was taking me or that he was working for you?”

Rose wanted to cry; she was so angry at this man for not telling her what to expect. Jyn had taught her how to use a blade and Rose had kicked herself for not carrying one with her that night; a mistake she would never make again.

Then there was the matter of the man who had grabbed her, Cal Kestis. Was he still around? Lurking?

“And how the fuck did you get involved with Crimson Dawn? They are gangsters, Armitage! That’s not who you are.”

Rose watched as Hux sat up a little straighter at the other syndicate’s name. 

“I will be happy to tell you everything, Rose, including about Crimson Dawn. But you have to trust me when I tell you I have everything under control.”

Trust him? Rose trusted no one, save for a handful of people, and even then, Rose feared she would still be betrayed. 

Trust him. Did she trust him? It was a question Rose asked herself every day since Hux came into her life, asking her to help him in taking down her father and his business. 

But Paige… and her fight. Hux had saved Paige’s life last night; then turned around scaring the living shit out of Rose. How could she square those two things with the man in front of her?

“Trust you? I don’t know how to trust you, Armitage,” the words felt like vinegar on her lips as she spoke them.

“Do you hate me, Rose?” Hux asked softly.

“Hate you? No, Armitage I don’t hate you. I hate how scared you made me last night. I hate that you have deliberately kept me in the dark, and how much you have kept from me.” Each statement was said with growing frustration.

Rose looked at the man sitting on the bed, sprawled out like an emperor holding court, like nothing ever phased him. Rose’s eyes raked over his all but naked body, making her own come alive, remembering how Hux’s hands and mouth woke up all of her senses, her desire for him, he feelings for her this man clogging her brain, making it difficult to think straight. 

This, above all else, made Rose madder than anything else that had gone on in the last rotation.

“…and I _hate_ that I am so turned on by you just sitting there in that bed, looking all lazy and delicious. Your stupid fucking beautiful face covered with that scruff,”

Rose walked away a little more forceful then she had intended after mentioning the physical reaction she had to him. She was just so frustrated she needed time to herself to gather her thoughts. Rose picked up the sheet she was still wrapped in as she moved through the dark hallway not wanting to trip over the material.

The problem was, Rose didn’t know where she was heading; she was under the impression the refresher was down this stretch of hallway but, as it turns out, it was just a hallway to nowhere. Rose let out a heavy sigh once she realized she would have to go back into the bedroom where Hux was with Mitaka, now that she could hear a second voice. Walking through the room, she stopped and looked at both of them, attempting to give them an irritated glare. Just as quickly as she changed the direction she was walking, Mitaka handed her a piece of white silk, her robe by the looks of it. Had Jyn been here last night, as well?

Rose took the robe, walked through the door and into the living space, heading in the direction of what she had hopped was the refresher, only to be greeted by a small kitchen instead. Not wanting to try yet another direction, Rose resigned herself to being in the small space for the time being. After looking around and seeing no one, Rose dropped the sheet she had been wrapped in and dressed herself in the robe that had been handed to her. 

What was she going to do now? What options were left to her? The night before with Hux had been beautiful, after the fear she had been kidnaped had worn off, that is. 

He had listened to her, though. He had herad her plea to save her sister and without hesitation, Hux had come through; Paige was alive, and if she could believe her father’s irate words, somehow Hux now owned her contract. Yet another thing she was going to have to talk with Hux about. 

Before she could spiral any further, Rose was no longer alone in the kitchen; Mitaka walked in to see her standing in the room.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know where else to go, I didn’t want to go back out there…” Rose said mostly to the floor. “But I don’t know where anything is.”

Rose finally looked at the man in front of her. He was handsome, with kind eyes and soft looking brown hair; Rose could see what Jyn saw in him and was happy she had found someone so great.

“I was actually looking for the refresher,” Rose said with an embarrassed smile. 

She felt a little silly, if she were honest with herself; she had yelled at the man who had essentially saved her sisters life last night. Rose had been taken to his home and after driving her absolutely wild on the balcony, Hux had cleaned her body, undressed her and put her to bed where she had been held through the entire night.

Never in Rose’s life had she felt so safe with another person than she had last night.

“The fresher is through the living area and to the left, Lady Rose.” Mitaka drew Rose from her thoughts as he gestured towards the direction of her intended target. 

“Please, call me Rose. We both know I’m no Lady,” Rose said to him, fed up with the whole charade. She hated being called that: Lady Rose. She was a street rat from a mining planet, the farthest thing from a Lady there could possibly be. Her father was a crime boss, not a Lord no matter how many people he had to kill in order to be referred to with that title. 

“You are a Lady to my lord, which makes you a Lady to me.”

Rose wanted to cry at his earnest words. She didn’t deserve them, and she knew it.

“But if you wish me to call you something else, it will be my pleasure, Rose.”

Rose smiled as she moved around the small space trying to keep out of Mitaka’s way, but there was only so much space for them both to occupy. 

Rose looked at the man puttering around the kitchen preparing the morning tray. He didn’t seem too much younger than Hux, but Rose thought he seemed so much older than his years. Had being with Hux made him like that? Or had he always been an old soul?

“You’ve been with him a long time, haven’t you?

“Almost twenty years, mistress.”

Rose wanted to ask him why? What was it that made him stay and do so much for a that man? What had Mitaka and Hux been through to establish such loyalty?

“He wants me to trust him with my life… I’ve learned it’s better to not trust anyone with anything. If I can’t take care of it myself, then I don’t need it.” It was a hard truth Rose had to learn in her early days at the Tico house.

“Mistress, may I speak freely?” Rose nodded.

“Has he done anything to you that would give you any feeling he is only out for his own gain?”

Rose bit her lower lip as she pondered this question. Since the moment she had met Hux at her party, Rose had never felt a moment of distrust from him. Yes, there had been times she didn’t understand or couldn’t see what his next move was, but she never outright distrusted Armitage Hux.

“Not that I can think of off the top of my head,” Rose jumped on the counter as she paused in her answer. “but what’s to say this isn’t all a game and he’s just using me?” Rose looked down at her hands clasped in her lap in front of her.

“That would kill me,” she whispered so softly. 

“I cannot tell you what is in Master Hux’s head, but I do know he thinks of you in the highest regard.” Mitaka handed her a slice of fruit as he spoke.

“I was so scared last night, Mitaka; I thought something had happened to him,” Rose felt her voice waver with the remembered fear. When the lights had gone out, Rose’s first thought was that she needed to somehow get to Hux. It didn’t matter she was on the other side of the arena, she had to get to him, protect him.

“The lights went out, I lost track of him in the commotion; then the next thing I knew I was being lifted and tossed into the back of a transport by a stranger...”

At first, Rose had thought the confident voice was Hux’s, that somehow, he had moved from the opposite side of the ring to get her. But when she realized it wasn’t Hux, her fight or flight response took over. 

“If I may, mistress, he battled with that for hours, he looked at every angle to see if there was a better way to get you out of the area but could not see any other way.”

_Figures._

Rose thought as Mitaka artfully arranged the fruit on the tray. Every time she wants to be angry with him, Rose learns yet another honorable act he’s done for her.

_Difficult man._

Rose jumped down from the counter, resolved with her next move; Hux would tell her everything or she was walking out and never seeing him again.   
She didn’t want to think about why just the threat of her doing it scared her more than being left in the dark did. 

“Then I guess it’s time for him to fill me in,” Rose said as she began to walk out of the kitchen, Mitaka tight on her heels. 

“Oh!” Rose stopped and turned around quickly to level Mitaka with a strong stare.

“And don’t think I’m going to let you get away with NOT telling me about you and Jyn,” Rose lifted the collar of the robe she was wearing, indicating her knowledge of her maid’s presence in the house.

“I know she was here last night. And I know she was with you,” she jabbed a finger into his chest glowering at him. “She’s my only friend, if you hurt her, just remember she taught me how to use a blade!”

Even she had to hide the smile that was snaking up her face as she spoke. Rose knew he wouldn’t hurt Jyn, but it was her duty as a friend to make it clear, just in case.

“Understood.” Mitaka answered, giving Rose a sharp nod. 

Rose turned back around and walked out on the balcony where Hux was seated; dressed in a flowing black silk robe, he looked like an emperor. Rose had to remember she was going to get answered, not straddle him right then and there. 

Rose moved to a chair across the table from where Hux was sitting. 

“Ok Armitage,” she sat down in the chair, putting her feet on the empty one in front of her, crossing them at the ankles. “Talk.”

Watching Rose walk around his home touched Hux on a deeper level then he ever thought possible; the way the bleak black space was brought to life with the wildness this small woman carried, wrapped in it like the robe she wore. Hux had watched as Rose moved from room to room, first wrapped in the sheet stolen from his bed then emerging from the kitchen in a sinful cloak of white silk. 

He knew this moment was coming, the past four years of his life culminating in one single conversation with Rose. Hux looked around at the building he was in, the eleven-story residential complex in which he lived was built because of this woman and she was finally inside the metal and chrome all designed because Hux couldn’t stay away from her. 

His Rose.

Hux released a breath when she sat down, speaking the words he had known were coming, but still not ready to hear,

“Talk.”

It should have been easy; Hux could recite the plan verbatim now, everything had, for the most part, fallen into place exactly as planned. Why couldn’t he find the words now?

_Because it was different before you realized that everything you were doing was because you were in love with her, you fool._

The thought front and foremost in his mind, Hux just stared at her, dumbstruck by her beauty. Mitaka poured their tea and caf, then left them, activating the privacy shield surrounding the patio; they were able to see out, but no one would be able to see in. Rose was meant to be with Crimson Dawn, after all, Hux had already fucked things up last night with taking her in plain view of the city. 

_Idiot._

Hux took the cup and saucer that held his tea, taking a sip and then leaning back in his chair; he couldn’t stall any longer.

“I was born on a planet called Arkanis, it’s also where I received my military training. When my father was teaching at the Academy before I was born, during Imperial rule, he met, and fell for a woman who worked at the Academy in the kitchens. 

“I was the result of their affair. When Brendol found out she was pregnant, he was furious, he told her to get rid of it, and to not expect anything of him if she kept it, nothing was going to ruin his stellar career in the Empire because he had a woman and child hanging around his neck.

“Little did Brendol know that my mother was the favorite cook to the Academy Commandant and when he found out about what had happened between the two, let alone what Brendol had said to my mother, Brendol was un-ceremonially discharged, he lost his commission and was kicked off of Araknis, left without a penny.”

Hux could tell Rose wasn’t sure why he was telling her this, but she listened patiently. 

“My mother was kept on at the academy, after I was born, we lived there. I don’t remember much, to be honest, I don’t even remember my mother’s name,”

Hux watched as Rose’s eyes began to blink rapidly at his confession.

“But I do remember she was beautiful with wild bright ginger hair,” Hux smiled at that memory; it was something he held onto, never sharing it with another soul, until now.

“What happened to her?” Rose asked softly.

Hux took a sip of his tea and readied himself to continue.

“I believe my father had her killed.” Rose’s face went ashen at his declaration.

“A few years ago, Brendol got very drunk and began talking about how he killed that bitch that ruined his life and he would do it again. But was happy I turned out like him.” Brendol had always talked about how his career was derailed and that was why Hux had been sent there, to finish what he started. 

“Brendol was given custody of me and he brought me here, to Canto Bight. The only skills my father had outside of the empire was making deals, so he went into the weapons trade here. When I was old enough, I was shipped off to different schools off planet and then finally to the military academy on Arkanis.”

Hux looked at Rose and wanted to reach out to her, needing the comfort of her touch but knowing if he did, he would lose his nerve to continue. 

“I was on leave when I first met you. Brendol told me the day before I was meant to return that he had been invited to the debut of the daughter of his business rival. He told me he had to go to look good and having his First Order Academy son there would make him look better.”

Hux thought back to that night, the way she looked in that red dress, her hair like raw silk cascading down her back. Hux thought of the stolen kiss in a darkened room; wanting so badly to lean in and kiss her right then only to stop himself. 

“When we were pulled apart that night, and I watched as Baze manhandled you,” Hux had to calm his thoughts, remembering the violence he felt seeing Baze grip Rose’s upper arm, dragging her away. “I thought back to all the women my father had treated as such over the years, thinking that was probably how he probably treated my mother.”

Hux began to get angry, standing up from his chair and walking to the terrace wall to look down just to calm himself.

“Watching him drag you off I decided right then I would stay in Canto Bight, a place I loathed, if only to get my revenge on Baze, turn you against him and take everything he’s ever owned in his life.”

“But I have never been loyal to Baze, Armitage, you didn’t have to do all of this just to get my attention.” Rose responded. “You already had it.”

Hux turned around to look at her, the sun at his back, warming him through the dark silk of his robe.

“But at the time I didn’t. I spent the year building my father’s business, making money, using my contacts and trying to figure out a way to get closer to you. It wasn’t until I saw you at your sisters fight that a plan started to come together.”

The next day he had informed Mitaka to call in Phasma and purchase the datapads. It was also the first time Hux had given his father the poison that had taken four years take full effect.

“Originally, the plan had been simple; take over my father’s company, turn everyone against Tico and buy up the shares of his company from investors jumping ship. And when he was at his weakest, plunder what he had left taking it all.”

“And me?” Rose’s face scrunched up slightly at this description. “Where did I fit into this plan to take my father down?”

“Don’t worry, Darling, I’m getting to that.” Hux informed her, trying to find the correct phrase.

“By this time, thanks to the datapads and our communications I had hoped that you would have wanted to be with me. We had already been sleeping together, I thought it would be an easy transition here.”

The look on Rose’s face could have made the hardest most dangerous criminal melt in fear.

Hux continued.

“That was the plan. Until three months ago when Jyn came to see me.” Rose’s face softened slightly at the mention of her friend.

“Jyn? Why would she come to see you?” Hux wanted to kiss the worry on her face away.

“Jyn began to suspect that something was about to happen between you and your father.” Hux tried to speak as to the point as possible as he was getting closer to the real reason Rose was there. 

“As you know she and Mitaka have become very close, Jyn made Mitaka promise that I only had your best interest at heart. Mitaka also told her and that if she ever felt you were in danger; she should feel free to tell me.”

Hux smiled softly to himself thinking about how fierce Jyn had been when they had spoken that first day, Hux having to give the same promise to the woman. 

“A few months ago, Jyn overheard Baze and his man Von talking about a payment Baze had missed to Crimson Dawn; a payment he was planning to use you to cover.”

Hux did walk to her at that point, his hand reaching for hers, bringing it to his lips, kissing her white knuckles.

“I don’t understand, Baze was going to sell me off to pay for a debt?” Rose’s lips began to tremble. 

“When you came to me earlier this week to tell me about Paige’s fight changing, I knew the exchange would happen sooner rather than later; I had it on good authority that Baze was looking for a legitimate way to get rid of Paige and the contract he has with her, the one that involves him taking care of you. 

With Paige out of the way Baze would be free to broker a deal; you for the debt clearing.” 

Rose was in shock but what was more shocking, the fact she was going to be sold off like property or that Hux had been able to stop it. Why would he do that? Rose still didn’t understand where she fit in all of this. 

“Is… is that it?” The weak and shaky whisper that spoke those three words did not sound like Rose’s. She prayed that was all of it.

“I paid off your father’s debts, Rose” Rose’s head shot to Hux’s who was still crouched down next to her.

“You did?” Rose felt a tear roll down her cheek only to have Hux smooth it away with his thumb. 

“Yes.” Hux stood up from his position next to her then, moving to his chair and sitting in it as if the entire galaxy rested on his shoulders.

“There’s still one more move left to make.” Hux continued as Rose sat there quietly.

“I paid off Baze’s debt and then some, I still need strings pulled, ones that only Qi’ra can pull, for the rest of this plan to work.”

Rose nodded. She remembered reading stories about Qi’ra, the leader of Crimson Dawn, she was a ruthless woman, someone no one wanted to go up against. Rose once told Jyn that if she ever controlled her father’s business, Rose would model herself after Qi’ra.

“The other day, when you informed me about Paige and the Lasat; do you remember what else you said to me?”

Rose suddenly understood where he was going, and she didn’t know how to process the information.

“I told you I wanted my father dead.” Rose answered in nothing more than a whisper.

“By now Baze has been informed that Crimson Dawn has you, and because they were tired of waiting for their payment, they now expect the credits they are owed on top of keeping you as per their original deal. As far as your father in concerned, you are off world somewhere, being held by Qi’ra who is tired of waiting. If he cannot pay, they will strip him of everything he owns, and end his life.”

Rose swallowed hard. 

“Along with their cover, Qi’ra has lent us Cal, who you met last night, to be your personal guard should anything happen before Crimson Dawn can take care of your father permanently.”

Rose played back everything Hux had said to her, trying to take it all in; surly she was missing something important. Hux had paid off her father’s debts in order to keep her safe from being sold off. Her father was going to use her as payment to pay off a debt he couldn’t pay back. It didn’t make sense no matter what way she moved the words around in her head.

Hux had paid who knows how many credits in order to keep her safe. Shit, how many credits did Hux have if he was able to do this and not blink? Enough to buy a person, it would seem.

Wait, did that mean that he now owned Baze’s debts? And did that mean…

“Wait, so, does that mean… you…own…me?”

Hux’s face never changed, his face just as impassive as before.

“No one owns you, Rose. You are free to go as soon as everything is over,” only then did he look down, not able to meet her gaze. “if that’s what you want.”

Rose walk over to the balcony wall, the same wall she had been bent over, holding on for dear life as the strongest orgasm of her sexual life overtook her. 

Rose had so many questions, her mind was nothing more than a jumble of thoughts. But there was one question that kept popping to the front of her brain.

“Why?” Rose said in the direction of the morning suns.

“Why, what?” Hux asked confused.

“Why would you put yourself out there like this? Why take so much risk on yourself?”

Rose held her breath.

“I would have thought that was obvious, Rose.”

Rose had not kissed Armitage Hux since the night at her party. To Rose, a kiss meant more than just sex; it meant faith and caring. If Rose kissed him when she wanted to believe they were only hate-fucking, then that would give credence to the feelings that had been bubbling up for years and Rose wasn’t ready to deal with them. 

_I would have thought that was obvious_

Those words rang in her ears like a siren blaring in alarm. 

Rose turned from the city view to face a seated Hux, not a relaxed bone in his body. Pushing off the wall she had been leaning against for strength, Rose moved across the balcony, towards Hux; Rose was scared, in shock and most of all unsure of her own feelings. Not since Paige had anyone cared for her enough that they would risk everything in their lives for her. 

Rose moved across the patio, stopping in front of Hux, standing between his legs. 

“What should be obvious, Armitage?” she spoke softly, reaching a hand to cup his cheek, her thumb gently stroking his full bottom lip.

“That I would sacrifice everything for you,” Rose moved even closer, bending down slightly and pressing her lips to his; tenderly at first, a show of love and admiration, only to be pulled down onto his lap, his hand thrust into her hair and his tongue entering her mouth. 

The kiss was not a soft, romantic kiss like they had shared all those years ago; no, this kiss was wild, heated and held all the passion they held for one another. This kiss wasn’t about sex, or even foreplay; the kiss Rose and Hux were sharing was about possession, both of them branding the other as theirs. 

Hux was lost in her and he never wanted to be found. The kiss which began beautifully passionate had morphed into a battle of wills, a fight for domination and frankly, if Rose wanted to dominate him with this kiss, Hux would let her. 

Rose pulled back all too soon, and he was struck with just how beautiful she was. Hux reached up again and held her face with his hands, just loving the feel of her soft skin against the roughness of his. 

When this whole thing began, he never thought just how much he would need to touch this woman; the craving of her body under his was, at times, distracting.

Rose pulled her face back a little farther, her eyes locking onto his, full of fiery need and desire, but there was something else there, something deeper and stronger than Hux could ever have hoped to see.

Love.

He knew it because his love was reflecting back at her.

“Armitage, I…” Rose began but stopped suddenly, her attention pulled away from him to something on the street level below. 

“Rose? Darling, what is it?” Hux moved behind her ready to protect her from anything that could come at them. Even behind the privacy shield the balcony had surrounding them, Hux still feared she would be seen and taken from him.

Hux took out a small cylinder commlink from the pocket of his robe and brought it to his mouth.

“Cal, come to the balcony, now.” Hux put the comm device back in his pocket moving Rose around his back to block her just in case something jumped at them.

“Is it hurt…” Rose said panicked, staring at the shadows across the street.

Cal joined them in a matter of moments looking over the wall to the street below.

“Rose, what do you see?” Hux still didn’t see what she was so upset about but suddenly Cal’s face brightened in a smile.

“I see it. Hux, get Rose inside, I need to take the shield down for a bit.” The subtle blue force field cleared once Hux moved Rose inside and away from prying eyes of the street. 

Hux watched as Cal jumped off the balcony, causing Rose to cry out and Hux to run to the side to see where Cal had landed.

Hux watched as Cal, having landed in a soft crouch in the middle of the road, stood up and waved to Hux looking over the wall. 

Fucking Force users. They were a menace at the best of times. Hux watched as Cal moved over the other side of the street, bend down to pick something up then ran back into the building only to walk through the pneumatic doors moments later. 

Rose ran to Cal the moment the doors closed knowing she was safe.

“Is it ok?” Hux heard Rose call to Cal and she reached for whatever Cal had picked up from the street.

Then he saw it; Rose turned around, cradled in her arms a small ball of orange fluff.

“What is that?” Hux asked, walking closer to Rose and the thing in her arms. 

“She was almost hit by a speeder,” she said raising the kitten to her face, making sweet purring noises at the animal in her hands. 

“Rose,” but that was all he got out because Hux could tell Rose was lost to this animal. 

“I’ll just go back to my post,” Hux heard Cal say as he gave the little hairball a pet behind the ears, his fingers going a little too close to Rose’s cleavage for Hux’s liking. 

Rose looked at Hux then, the expression on her face was worth all the credits in the casinos. With a sigh Hux smiled.

“Mitaka,”

If anyone would know what to do with this cat, it would be him. After all, Mitaka helped take care of Millicent, and wasn’t this one almost an exact copy?

“I need you.”

Hux walked over to Rose, resigned to this new member of the household.


	5. In The Eye Of A Hurricane There Is Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been less than a week since the fight between Paige and The Captain; Hux has had Rose in hiding within the confines of his apartment until the next phase of the plan can begin. In this time Rose and Hux have fallen into a moment of domestic bliss as they learn each other in a way they had never before allowed themselves. But domestic bliss can only last so long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I have to thank my amazing Beta, Brit for helping me on this chapter and for being a great friend and creative sounding board through this entire story. Almost finished!

“Armitage,”

Rose called from the patio where she had taken up residence with her new best friend, the small orange kitten she affectionately named Gingersnap, Gigi for short. Rose stood up and entered the living area where assistance droids were collecting and taking inventory of travel cases.

“Are you going somewhere?”

Placing Gigi on her shoulder, Rose moved farther inside the room, coming up next to a seated Hux as he read over information on a datapad he was holding. Rose looked him up and down as he sifted slightly on the couch, giving her room to sit next to him; repositioning the kitten from her shoulder to her lap as she curled her legs underneath her body cuddling in against Hux’s warmth.

“Actually, Darling,” Hux said after leaning over and kissing her temple before returning to the device. “ _We_ are going somewhere. Arkanis, to be exact.”

Rose couldn’t hide a smile at the affection he had begun showing the past few days while they were alone together in the penthouse: the simple touches and soft kisses he gave to her without hesitation had become something Rose craved. These displays, coupled with the terms of endearment Hux used freely have become commonplace since their conversation on the patio the morning after Paige’s fight; the morning which began with Hux filling Rose in on her father’s plans for her future, but ended with her seated in his lap, kissing him as if her very life depended on the connection.

In the time Rose had been confined to the penthouse, multiple messages had come in from her father, begging Hux to help him return his daughter back to her family. Hux had informed Baze each time he was working on the situation; yesterday telling him that he had a lead on Rose’s whereabouts and that he was making arrangements to have her retrieved. Was this the reason for the trip, Rose thought?

Dressed in a pair of loose silk lounge pants and a soft Ryloth sheep hair sweater, Rose focused on the small kitten in her lap batting at the pendent she wore around her neck, attempting to hide her trepidation.

“I’ve never been off planet,” she said quietly. “Other than Hays Minor, I’ve only ever stayed on Cantonica.”

Rose watched out of the corner of her eye as Hux placed the device he had been reading on the table and then turned to face her, taking one of her hands in his and bringing it to his lips for a kiss. 

“I want you away from this planet until your father is taken care of,” Hux began as he lightly caressed her knuckles with his thumb. “and I couldn’t think of a safer place for you. I have connections at the Academy if we need to be hidden,” Rose watched as Hux looked down at their entwined hands nervously, as if he were unsure about what he was going to say next. “I bought an estate in the countryside years ago but have only ever visited once or twice since.” Hux looked up from her hands, almost shy at his next words. “and thought, perhaps, you might like to see where I was raised.”

The honestly in his green eyes when he looked back up at her hit Rose square in the chest. He wanted to show her his life before all of this, before he had changed the entire direction of his life for her.

Rose’s gaze moved from his face to the hand he held so carefully then back to his face, the soft growth of beard making him look more rugged and feral than ever before. Hux had always looked dangerous, much like the way a sleek laser sword looked deadly, the kinds she had seen in holovids about the Jedi. But the man sitting next to her, dressed more casually then Rose had ever seen him before in a pair of black trousers and a black high collared sweater the wool draped loose and conformable around his svelte frame, coupled with his hair lose around his face, the gel he normally used to keep the ginger locks in place forgotten and the shadow of hair covering his face; Rose thought Hux looked even more dangerous looking like this.

“I think I would like to see where the mighty Armitage Hux grew up.” Rose moved closer to Hux, Gigi scrambling off her lap and into the corner of the sofa they sat on. Rose leaned in, kissing his stubbled jaw; Hux moving the hand which had not been holding hers, placing it on her hip, pulling her closer. Rose kissed her way down his jawline and up his strong chin, nipping at Hux’s lower lip which made him hiss in pleasure.

“Sir, you have a call in the office,” Mitaka’s voice came from the intercom system shattering the silence of the room and ending the intimate moment Rose and Hux had been having. Rose backed away from Hux, allowing him to stand, adjusting himself with little affect. Rose liked that she had that kind of effect on him.

Bending down to give Rose a sweet kiss to her lips, he paused to tease her.

“Hold that thought,” Hux rose to his full height and exited the room to answer the call. 

Over the last few days Rose had become well acquainted with the deceptively large penthouse, she now knew where every room was, the location of the refresher and kitchen as well as the three other rooms within the apartment unit; one was used as Hux office, another as Mitaka’s quarters and the other was an open space used as a guest room. “If I were to ever care to have guest, that is, I would put them here” Rose remembered his small joke making her smile at his relaxed conversation. 

Along with learning the layout of the apartment, Rose had also learned what Hux did all day, his business was always something she had been interested in, but Rose never had the courage to ask him about it. Once, when Rose had been younger, Baze had taught her about his business, not the illegal portion of his organization, but the day to day operations of the importing and exporting of goods. Rose had enjoyed learning how the business had operated and even as a child she thought how fun it would be when she took over when he retired. Once she was older and understood that no one in Canto Bight was clean, Rose began to get small glimpses into what Baze really dealt in; weapons and Spice was a very lucrative business in the Sector. Which was why it didn’t make any sense that Baze would have needed to take out such high credit loans against the business. 

The mining and selling of spice alone would have had them in the black for the rest of their days, so what had happened to put Baze in such a tight spot that him selling off his daughter was his best option?

Feeling Hux’s loss, Rose stood, picked up Gigi from the other side of the couch, and started walking through the bedroom, into the dressing room and refresher. Hanging together with Hux’s clothing in a veritable sea of black fabrics were a few pieces of her own clothing: the pinks, greens and creams of her own palate a stark difference to his own. 

The clothes made her think of her maid, her friend, and hoped Jyn was safe. Mitaka had informed her that Jyn was, in fact, fine, that she was safe, and Rose would see her again soon, but in the past ten years, Jyn had always been there, helping her, talking with her. Rose was at a loss at what to do without her. Not that she couldn’t bathe or dress herself; it was more that Rose missed the kindship, the connection she had to the other woman. Being separated from Paige, Jyn had become a surrogate sister to Rose, and now she had been taken away from Rose as well.

On the day, four years ago, when she and Jyn had returned to the house after seeing Paige, the day Jyn had been given the datapads by Mitaka, Rose had wanted to run to her room and hide from the world. The fight the night before had been brutal and ugly, a match that Paige had lost badly, and Rose thought her sister might not survive. Once in her wing of the house Jyn had ushered her into the refresher, the sound of the natural hot spring that fed the bathing pool covering their voices. 

_“I have been given this, Mistress. It is from Master Hux’s man, Mitaka. He said it was from Master Hux himself.”_

Rose was handed a datapad and told the story of being approached by Hux’s man and that if she wished, she would have a direct connection to him. Jyn then informed her of the message loaded on to the pad, and that she should listen to it in the most secure location she could find. 

_“Briarpatch, this datapad and the connection to me are solely for you and you alone. Having watched you from across the arena last night I have come to hope you may be willing to help me in unseating your father from his place of power in the Sector. With your help, I believe I can do just that, freeing you and your sister from the prison you are in.”_

Rose still thought of the prerecorded message on the pad, the one explaining his plan for her to do with it and what Hux had expected of her if she did decide to use it. Even now, Rose still listened to the recording at night when she couldn’t fall asleep; his voice a comfort to her even after all the contentious meetings or the passionate sex they had shared, Hux still brought Rose a sense of ease and balance. 

_“The image of your sister’s blood splattered across your beautiful face is burned into my memory and something you should never have to endure again. You are a songbird locked in a gilded cage and I will stop at nothing to watch you fly free again. I await your call. Finalizer.”_

“Time to go.”

Rose was snapped out of her memory at Hux’s clipped words as he came rushing out of his office, Mitaka and Cal close on his heals. 

“Rose, darling, I need you to go with Cal,” Rose didn’t like the sound of his voice. He had promised her he would tell her everything as it happened, and for the most part, he had kept his word. Rose could only guess at what happened on that call to spook him for this change in demeanor. 

“Armitage? What is happening?” Rose asked as straight forward as possible, attempting to keep her worry from entering her voice.

“I will tell you everything once we get into the transport,” Hux answered as he motioned for Cal to come into the room. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Rose held onto Gigi as she was rushed out of the penthouse and into the private turbolift that went directly to the garage where a transport was waiting. Cal ushered her inside, waiting at the open door until the other two men followed moments later; from a different lift, Rose had noticed. 

Once the other two men settled in the transport, Mitaka in the front quickly joined by Cal, and Hux climbing into the back sitting across from her, the vehicle began to move. The windows were shuttered keeping her from being seen by anyone on the outside, but unfortunately it also kept Rose from seeing where they were going. It was like the night of the fight, being picked up and placed in the transport by Cal and kept from knowing where she was headed. She hated it then, and she really hated it now.

Rose knew she was acting like a child when she leaned back on the seat a little more forcefully then normal and looked at the shuttered window.

“The call was from Qi’ra,” Hux began, getting Rose’s attention. “Your father was seen leaving your sister’s apartment in the fighter’s barracks.”

Rose sat up straighter at the mention of her sister. “Paige? Is she alright?”

Hux moved to sit next to Rose, taking her hand. 

“I am not sure what has happened, but Baze was seen leaving angry and covered in blood,” answering her honestly. “And what looked like a blaster wound on his side.”

Rose fought the panic rising up inside of her; if anything happened to Paige, so help anyone who would dare hurt her. Suddenly everything became clear to her; Rose was not a weak flower to be seen and protected. Rose was no longer going to sit idly by and allow people to protect her from the world. Not anymore.

“Is that where we’re heading? Are we going to see Paige? What about Phasma? Armitage, tell me what’s going on!” Rose felt Hux’s arm wrap around her, pulling her close to him giving her as much comfort as the small cabin would allow.

“We are heading towards the marina station; there we will board my ship and take us to Arkanis,” Hux answered her. “as planned.”

Rose pulled her hands from his hold, her face set in a mask of determination.

“I want to see my sister, Armitage.” Rose stated clearly and made the point of remaining as calm as possible. 

“Rose, I understand you want to see your sister,” Hux answered.

“No, Armitage, I don’t think you do understand. I am sick and tired of being handled. I want to see my sister now.” Rose realized at the moment she didn’t have much leverage to hold over him. Well, perhaps there was one thing.

“If I do not see my sister right this moment, I will never sleep with you again. I will never touch, kiss, suck, rub or fuck any part of your body ever again.” Rose looked him up and down for emphasis.

Rose knew this was a weak play to make; so, she never touches him again, so what? He could easily find another woman to sleep with; Rose didn’t want to think about how painful that realization was. But Rose held firm in her convictions as his eyes dilated in agitation and… was that lust at her words burning behind them?

Rose watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small holodisk, holding the device out toward her in his gloved hand Hux handed it over to her.

“Will this be good enough?” Hux sighed as he traded the Kitten for the device, placing the holodisk in her hand so she could speak with her sister. 

“What a man will do for the woman he loves?” The cabin of the transport was silent but if Rose had breathed harder at that moment, she would have missed Hux’s words.

 _The woman he loves_.

Rose thought back to the conversations they had had; back to all the soft touches and kisses she and Hux had shared over the past few days and believed he cared for her, had deep affection for her; but never she did believe he loved her. 

Rose shook off the lightning bolt of a revelation he had just uttered and focused on the holodisk in her hand. After making the correct manipulations, Paige’s face hovered above the disk. 

Her face was still slightly bruised from the fight, bacta could only help so much, sometimes it was just a matter of time and the body’s own healing before she was back to her beautiful self.

“Paige!” Rose cried, pushing at a small tear that had begun to roll down her cheek. “We heard what happened, are you alright?”

Paige smiled somberly and nodded back at her sister.

“Yes, Rose, we are fine.” Paige answered softly. “Are you with Hux? Phasma said he is taking you off planet but couldn’t tell me where.”

Rose felt Hux’s hand on her lower back, the touch comforting, if not a bit frustrating; she was still mad at him, after all.

“Yes,” Rose glanced at Hux before leaning into him slightly for comfort. “We are on our way to the marina now, we are heading to…”

“Rose,” Hux cut in before she could finish her sentence. 

“She’s my sister,” Rose didn’t like not being able to tell her everything, especially when it was so dangerous for them.

“I know,” he said looking pained. “but I don’t have a communication shield on this transport.” Rose hadn’t forgotten the threat on the two at that moment. She also didn’t want to put Paige in danger with knowledge of where she and Hux were headed.

“No, I understand,” Paige finally broke the tension. “I don’t need to know. Just,” Rose watched as her sister looked behind her for a moment then returned to the commlink. “Hux, promise me you’ll keep her safe.” Rose looked at the holoprojection of her sister and then at Hux’s determined face.

“I will protect her with my life, Paige.” Hux stated without hesitation. “Please inform Phasma I will contact her as soon as we are settled.”

“Sir, we are almost to the marina.” Mitaka’s voice came over a speaker from the front of the transport.

Rose had enough time to show off Gigi then said her goodbyes, promising to call her and tell her all about the small kitten as soon as they landed. Once the device went silent and the transport came to a stop Rose turned to Hux, taking Gigi from him, kissing her little head for comfort.

“Thank you, Armitage.” Rose handed Hux the holodisk and leaned in to kiss his lips softly, punctuating the sentiment.

“For what, darling?” His hand came to cup her cheek clearly confused as to what she had to be thankful for.

“For everything, protecting me and helping Paige,” The door to the transport opened and Cal stood cover waiting for her to exit. “but mostly for telling me the truth, even though I know it hurt you to do so.”

“Hux, we have to move.” Cal’s voice came into the cabin quick and to the point.

But it didn’t stop Hux from bringing his other hand to hold her face fully; his thumbs brushing over her lips. 

“Never, for one moment, Rose, think that I won’t tell you the truth,” His eyes were a sea of deep green and silver swirling around as he looked at Rose.

Hux leaned in, careful of the kitten in her hand, and kissed her hard and deep, making Rose’s head swim. Rose had so many questions she wanted answered: did her father know Hux was hiding her? What happens to her father’s business once everything is over? But mostly she wanted to know if he really had plans to take care of her father, permanently?

“Alright you guys, I need you inside. I can’t mind wipe an entire marina, so the less people around, the better.” Cal stuck his head into the cabin, attempting to hurry them along her. Rose giggled at the annoyed glare Hux gave the Cal as he exited the transport before her. But Rose couldn’t help but notice his gaze went softer when he helped her out and onto the gangplank of the ship. 

Rose didn’t know what awaited her in Arkanis; but if Hux felt it was better for her to be there, Rose wasn’t going to question him.

He did love her, after all.


	6. Under the Arkainsian Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domestic bliss has been shattered. Hux and Rose are on Arkanis but are they safe? Everything comes to a cataclysmic peak in this penultimate chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As Always thank you to the amazing Brit, without whom this story would be twice as long and 90% shit! 
> 
> Also thank you to all of you who have been reading and commenting. It helps me so much to hear what you guys like and respond to!!!!

_“Attention passengers, we are approaching our final destination of Arkanis Military Post in moments. Please be prepared to disembark; luggage will be unloaded on the port side of the ship.”_

Jyn was startled awake by the sound of a pilot droid’s announcement and she could not have been happier to hear it. She was not one for space travel, having grown up poor on the streets of Canto Bight, and then, working with Rose (who was not allowed to travel) Jyn was a steadfast “foot firmly on the ground” woman; well, until her Love for Rose and her desire to protect her demanded she not be. Jyn gathered her things, making sure she had her tag for the small amount of luggage she had been able to bring with her. 

When Mitaka and Master Hux conferred with her the plan to get Rose off planet and hidden safely on a planet that housed the First Order’s elite military academy, it all seemed easy: Jyn would discreetly pack up Rose’s things and send them ahead to the estate Master Hux owned outside of the Military compound on Arkanis. Then Jyn would gather her own small belongings and sneak out of the mountain estate early in the morning before the suns came up and the house was awake to board a transport, the first of many, ending up here. 

After the ill-fated fight between Paige and _The Captain_ , the Tico household had been in a constant state of commotion and panic. Thanks to Tico being livid at losing his gamble and Rose being kidnaped; Jyn no time to do what she needed in the time given.

But best laid plans always seem to go to waste. Franticly and as covertly as she could and, Jyn would pack small trunks with Rose’s things, sending them ahead and hoping they would be at the landing platform when she landed in Arkanis. The coat Master Hux had asked Jyn specifically to have made for Rose was one of the only things she made sure went in the first trunk. 

The transport came to a jerky stop once on the platform indicating it was safe to move around and exit the ship. Jyn, however stayed behind a bit, looking for a small group to exit with, just in case Baze Tico had spies she was unaware of. This particular transport was the third ship in as many rotations she had been on, covering her tracks with different names and forged identifications allowing her to move through the system easily, Master Hux’s military contacts coming in handy for Jyn’s safe passage. 

Jyn’s original travel plans had been diverted when as she was about to board her second and final transport to avoid a group of bounty hunters holding tracking pucks with both Rose and Hux’s faces hovering above them. Jyn hadn’t been sure of what they knew, but she wouldn’t take any chances. After contacting Mitaka and letting him know of her change in plans, Jyn boarded an unknown ship in order to protect who she was and what she knew. The trip would take longer, but it would be worth it in the end.

The platform of the transport was mostly former passengers meeting up with their parties, droids unloading trunks from the luggage hold and a group of military officers in a huddle around a tall central officer.

Jyn began walking towards the droids unloading the luggage with her tags, wondering how she would get to Master Hux’s estate when she heard her name be called, making her stop in her tracks in panic.

“Jyn Erso?”

The man saying her name was spoken calmly and with a controlled tone, not by someone who was questioning if it was actually her or not. But still, Jyn did not exactly wish to advertise her whereabouts. and maybe connect her to Master Hux or worse, Rose.

She watched as a tall blonde man walked casually towards her and it was only then did Jyn notice his uniform. The man was high ranking in the First Order and had a small cadre of men following him in his wake.

“Excuse me, are you Jyn Erso?” The man asked again now with a small smile that oddly comforted her. 

“Don’t say my name. it’s not safe!” she said in hushed tones.

The man walked closer and held out his hand toward Jyn in friendship.

“Please forgive me. My name is Commandant General Val Alcyon. I am a friend of Mitaka and Hux,” he spoke confidently and without faltering making Jyn feel he was telling the truth. But she still felt for the blades at her side, should she need them.

“They have asked me to see that you are taken care of and safely escorted to the estate,” the General continued, moving aside to reveal her a transport in the distance. Jyn was still hesitant; she didn’t know this man and things were precarious to say the least. 

“Thank you, General,” Jyn responded, still not moving towards the man and the younger cadets. “But if Master Hux did send you, I hope you would understand why I’m hesitant to go with you.”

She was not getting in that transport with him unless he proved his connection to the only men she trusted in the galaxy.

The man in front of Jyn smiled as he reached his hand behind him towards one of the cadets who placed a holodisk in his hand.

“Forgive me, Miss Erso. Of course, I understand. Dopheld informed me you were very smart and cautious.” The general then handed the disk to Jyn, who took it hesitantly.

The general then moved his men away from Jyn so she would be allowed privacy to watch the message.

_“Jyn, I am sorry I could not be there in person to greet you on the platform, but we too had to split our travel into multiple stages, causing us to be later than originally planned. The man who gave you the holodisk is Val Alcyon, the one who I told you about from my academy days. He is a dear friend and close confidant of Hux and I. He has both of our confidence to escort you safely to the estate. I will tell you more of our journey when we land in a few hours. I miss you dearly and cannot wait until you are in my arms again. I love you. Take care, my love.”_

Jyn recalled a story Mitaka told him about his time at the academy; about a romance he had and that Master Hux had tried to help him hide from the ones in charge at the academy. Student fraternization like between the two boys was strictly forbidden and poor Mitaka had to be separated from the boy he’d loved simply because of fear and bigotry.

Jyn had asked Mitaka once if he had loved her as much as he had loved the boy in the story; only to be told he loved them each in completely different ways. But when he thought of his future it was Jyn he saw. She felt for the boy he had to leave, but it had allowed Jyn to see Master Hux in a different light.

Until then, Jyn had only seen Hux as Rose did: pig headed, and singularly focused on the task at hand. Before then Jyn had a hard time seeing the things Hux was doing with regard to Rose as love until Mitaka told her about how Hux stood up for him in court, and how he put his own commission and reputation on the line for Mitaka. 

Jyn walked back to the General and hand handed the holodisk back to him, who then handed it off to a cadet.

“Mitaka trusts you,” she said, standing a little taller, attempting to be show herself as capable. “So, I too will trust you.” She continued.

The General motioned to the transport.

“Shall we then?” The General asked with a soft smile.

“My trunks?” Jyn looked back at the droids stacking the luggage not far from where they stood.

“My men will take care of the trunks and have already sent the first few shipments to the estate.

Jyn looked around at the other people still wandering around the platform. Did they know who she was and who she was connected with? The thought of putting Rose and Master Hux in danger scared her more than being in space had.

“Not to worry, Miss. Erso,” The General said noticing the worry in her face. “I know everyone on this section of the planet.”

Jyn turned to face him, and Val went on.

“But more important, they know me,” he said with a less collected tone, his voice stern and cold, holding a promise of safety and protection. “They know if anything happens to you, it is me they will have to deal with. Shall we, Miss Erso?”

Val gestured in the direction of the transport and Jyn smiled as she walked toward it.

“Thank you, General.”

“Please,” he continued as he boarded the transport after her. “Call me Val.”

One of things that had continued to draw Hux to Rose Tico, especially in the early days of their relationship, was her mind and how she never seemed to know just how brilliant she truly was. Watching her ponder problems he would mention to her, either about his father or a business transaction he was hesitant to make for some reason or another, watching Rose think things through and ask questions he didn’t even know he needed answers to was the single sexiest thing about the woman. 

With all that said, however, never had he expected her reaction to walking onto the transport on Canto Bight. Hux watched as her eyes light up at every blinking indicator, how she trailed her hands lightly over console panels, and when she asked if she could sit with the pilot droid and proceeded to ask him a million and a half questions, all which he answered, was something Hux will never forget.

Hux woke his sleeping Rose and began to gather the small number of things they had brought with them. Rose was still in the soft sweater and lounge pants and he worried about her walking out into the cold and probably rainy Arkansian air. They had to leave Canto Bight in such haste that the small bag of things he had Mitaka pack had been forgotten forcing them to be in the same clothing for multiple rotations.

Cal informed them they were safe to exit, and with Rose’s arm safely in his, Hux and Rose walked out of their small cabin and down to the gangplank of the ship which lead to the platform. 

The moment they walked into the cold, damp air Hux felt Rose tighten up from the cold. Smiling, Hux wrapped her in his arms and looked down at her.

“Care to make a run for it, Darling?” Hux gave Rose a wicked smile after indicating the transport. Rose smiled back up at him and began to run towards the vehicle, giggling as she ran ahead of Hux. 

He loved this side of her; free and safe to be herself without the trapping of her house or name or that bastard who would never be a true father to her. During the second night of travel, Hux had quietly contacted Phasma, telling her to gather Paige and a few things and join them on Arkanis. Hux wanted Rose and Paige as protected as he could make them, and he had a feeling Tico would not stop at throwing Rose to the wolves when it had been Paige who had made the Devil’s Bargain with him.

Being trapped on the transport kept Hux from exploding the way he had wanted to after hearing Phasma explain Tico’s plans for Rose before he ships her off to the highest bidder.

But the desire to see this man dead would have to wait. All he had right then was this moment with Rose, and he would take advantage of it. Hux wanted to enjoy the time he had with Rose, to make love to her; this woman he loved and cherished more than his own life. 

Safely inside the vehicle that would take then across the rock flats and ice caverns to his estate, Hux leaned back and watched as Rose looked at her new surroundings. 

“Armitage, I have never seen anything like this.” The wonder on her face making Hux see his old home in a new light. 

Arkanis was a planet built by the harmony of beauty and violence; volcanos which added new land masses for life to grow and walls of ices that melted, cutting through rock and filtering down to be consumed by the planet’s inhabitants. Black rock beaches and frozen ice caves met with rolling green hills and snow-covered mountains: Arkanis was an allegory for everything Armitage Hux was, the multifaceted person this planet had born and raised. It was also a place he never thought he would return to, despite the estate he owned on the North West side of the planet. 

“Is that a good thing?” Hux reached out to pet the obsidian curtain of her hair, unable to keep his hands to himself when this woman was around. 

She turned from the window slightly, looking at him sideways with a sly smile.

“So far, yes,” She said turning around but stopped mid turn and looked back at Hux with a concerned face.

“But I have to ask,” she said a little hesitant. “Is it always this cold?”

Hux let out a chuckle and wrapped his arms around her again, trying to warm them both. “No, not always.” He kissed her head softly as they settled into the long ride. “it gets much colder in the winter.”

Rose joined him in a soft giggle at his honesty in the form of a joke.

He had found himself relaxing like this with her, making simple jokes whenever the conversation called for it; anything to hear Rose laugh. 

When he bought the property a year ago, Hux had done so thinking he would come here to relax, spend time with Rose and maybe a child or two away from the frenetic day to day life of Canto Bight. He hoped more than anything that she would feel comfortable here, that she could see herself spending time in this house, on this planet. 

But as time got closer to show off the house and his plans Hux came to realize that she didn’t have a choice. Rose had never had a choice in anything that had happened to her. Even him bringing her here now was not a choice of her own making. 

Hux watched as Rose walked into the stone house, cuddling the orange ball of fluff she called a kitten and hoped she liked it. Hux prayed that she didn’t feel trapped or alone in this place. He was sure that as soon as Paige arrived, Rose would feel better about her surroundings. Not to mention the woman who Alcyon had escorted here earlier that day who was currently running towards Rose. 

“Jyn!” the two embraced each other, Hux and Mitaka remaining back, allowing the women to say their hellos.

“Rose, I have been so worried.”

“Jyn I am so happy to see you. I’ve missed you so much.”

Hux hated that Rose began to cry at the reunion, but he told himself at least she wasn’t alone. Jyn’s face had tears rolling down her own cheeks the moment they had seen one another. 

“Darling, Mitaka and I will be in the office.”

Rose turned to see Hux walking with Mitaka into another room of the house. She was sad to watch him leave, but she knew he wasn’t leaving her, but allowing her to spend time with her friend. 

“Thank you, Armitage,” Rose said, wiping away tears. “Will I see you later?” she added, hesitant to hear his answer.

Hux stopped in the hallway, turning back and walking directly towards her. Rose was surprised when he took her face in his hand, kissing her in a soft yet deep kiss.

“Darling, you can see me whenever you wish to see me. There are no closed doors here. This is your house to move through as you wish. If you don’t wish to stay here, tell me where you want to go, and I will take you.”

His words were so ardent and fierce that Rose felt as if she could breathe from the intensity of them landing on her heart.

“Armitage…”

“Rose.”

 _I love you_.

She wanted to say it. Rose wanted to shout it from the highest mountain and hear it echo through the deepest valley. The words bubbled in her throat and almost burst out when he kissed her again.

“The only thing I ask, Darling, is if you go outside for any reason, please, take Cal with you.” he kissed her again after Rose nodded her head in agreement to her protector, understanding that even though they were in a different system, her life was still in danger.

“Come mistress,” Jyn said, breaking the silence. “I have your things. Let’s get you into something warmer, shall we?”

Rose kissed Hux again before leaving the living room they had been standing in. Jyn walked her down the hall and into a large bedroom unlike anything Roe had ever seen before.

The house itself was old, built with ancient stone and slate roofing and had little to know modern convivences. But Rose liked that the refresher had real water faucets and a large soaking tub.

 _I have plans for this little baby,_ Rose thought to herself and she looked around the room. Entering the main sleeping area, Jyn had laid out on the bed warm clothing for Rose to choose from; heavy sweaters and thick pants paired with boots and a pair of bright red leather gloves. 

After changing into her new clothing, Jyn helped Rose into the coat she had forgotten Jyn had had her fitted for months ago. Back then Rose had no clue as to why she was having one made for her but had hoped that her father was taking her somewhere that a coat was needed. The last piece was the red gloves, which were also a perfect fit for her. 

As she slipped them on, Rose thought of her favorite pleasure toy that she had hidden under her pillow in Canto Bight. Feeling the leather with her still bare hand, Rose smiled and looked at Jyn who smiled back at her with an evil glint her eye.

Slipping the other glove on, Rose watched as Jyn moved to one of the smaller trunks, pulling out a velvet sack with a draw string and handed it to Rose.

“I thought, perhaps you would like to have this.”

Rose opened the sack and let out a burst of laughter.

“Jyn Erso! You didn’t!”

Rose reached in and pulled out a large black leather glove and held it to her chest.

“I thought, perhaps Master Hux would like to wear it tonight…”

Rose laughed again and playfully pushed at Jyn’s shoulder. Shaking her head while still laughing, Rose walked towards the bed, picked up Gigi and stuck the black glove under the pillow. 

Rose explored the main living areas and moved down one of the other halls, looking for the office Hux had said she would find him in. When she heard the conversation between Hux and Cal, she stopped at the door, but Cal stopped speaking when he sensed her presence. Rose didn’t understand how the Force worked, but she understood enough to know they had extra abilities to sense when people were around.

“Rose, my Darling, please come in,” Hux said, making her feel a little silly about not wanting to be a bother to him. 

When she was younger, she would stand outside her father’s door, listening when he was alone, or when he had a lull in conversation so she would be able to knock and enter his office. In that time, she learned a great deal about his business and who her father trusted and who he didn’t, Brendol Hux, then later his son, Armitage, being his main corporate adversaries. 

Rose had to smiled a little bit knowing that the man who her father hated more than any one had just called her Darling. She smiled even wider knowing she would never be tired of hearing it.

Hux kissed her again and then looked at her expectedly, reminding Rose why she was in the office in the first place.

“Jyn and I thought we would take a walk over the grounds.” she said, giving a quick glance to Cal in recognition that she was to take him along.

“Let me get my coat,” Cal said with a large smile as he exited the office, leaving the two alone. 

“Is everything alright, Armitage?” Rose licked her lips hoping for good news.

“Well, actually, I’m not sure. As you know, Baze was injured at your sister’s place, Paige shot him.” Rose nodded, remembering the conversation with Paige after it happened. 

“And?” she asked hoping he would continue and scared as to what she would hear.

“He was last seen boarding his transport and heading off planet.” Rose’s heart began to race.

“Qi’ra has her people looking into it and trying to track him. I do not wish to alarm you, but I also said I would tell you the truth. When you come back from your walk, there will be military presence around the house and throughout the grounds. They are on their way now.”

Rose thought about what she wanted to say earlier to him; she wondered if this was a good time to tell him how she felt about him. Tell him that she loves him. Would that take that fear out of his eyes?

“Are you ready, Rose?” Cal said from the doorway ruining her chance to tell him at that moment.

“Yes, Cal, I’m ready,” she went up on her toes to kiss Hux goodbye, then turned to walk out of the room when she was held back by a soft pull on her gloved hand. Rose turned around and looked expectantly up into the scruffy bearded face of the man she loved.

“You look beautiful in that coat.”

“You look beautiful in that coat.”

 _Fuck, Hux, that was lame even for you,_ he thought to himself as he watched Rose walk outside with Jyn and Cal. 

Hux sank down in his chair and scolded himself, not seeing the kitten that walked in until he jumped onto his lap expectedly. 

“I could have said it, cat,” he spoke to the kitten now excited to have attention. “I love you, Rose. I am in love with you, Rose. Please never leave me Rose. I would die for you, Rose.” He said more to the empty room as much as to the cat now curling up in his lap. 

After dinner, he thought to himself. He would tell her in bed. Yes, that’s what he will do; after dinner Hux planned to take her back to their room, draw her a bath and then after she was warm and pliant, he would carry her back to the enormous bed and make love to her, then, just after he comes he will tell her he loves her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her.

The house was old, ancient even and had very few modern bells and whistles; the main reason as to why he liked it. He had always preferred to do things for himself and the ancient house allowed him this small delight. Hux didn’t care for droids; for some reason as a child he just never trusted them. But some things were unavoidable in the age they lived in, droids being one of them. But he could choose as to how he interacted with them. 

When he bought the house, it came with only a few droids; mostly a grounds keeper and a chef droid were who he utilized the most. Hux had Mitaka plan food for at least a week in advance so the chef droid should be able to prepare a romantic dinner for the two of them. He even set up a dinner for Jyn and Mitaka in their wing of the house as well as a nice one for Cal. 

Hux had so many things to do to prepare for tonight, so many balls in up in the air where his company was concerned but none of it mattered; only dinner with Rose mattered.

Hours later, once dinner had been consumed and wine drunk, Hux was soaking in the large tub in the refresher with a very naked and warm Rose leaning against him. He could get used to this, quiet moments with just the two of them.

“I would give everything up if you say the word,” Hux said quietly into the silence, the only noise that of the water in the tub gently lapping against them.

“I would sell the company; we could live wherever you wanted,” he continued as she went very still.

“You would do that?” she asked carefully. “Give everything up and live a quiet life, for me?”

He sat up in the tub, making her do the same, turned around to see him.

“I would do anything for you without a second thought, Rose.”

Rose looked away from him for a moment, carefully getting up from the tub and stepping out, wrapping the fluffy towel around her now cold wet body.

“Have I upset you, Darling?” he asked as he got out himself, following her into the bedroom.

Rose turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, as if pondering what he had said to her.

“I love you,” she said after a long quiet moment then looked at him.

His heart stopped at those words coming out of her mouth.

“You love me?” it was a whispered question, almost too quiet even for Hux to hear as he went down to his knees in front of her.

Rose smiled sweetly and reached to cup his face in her hand.

“Of course, I love you, Armitage. How can I not?”

Hux leaned in, closing the space between them quicker than Rose could register, kissing her deep and urgently. The towel was torn from her body and tossed haphazardly on the floor near them. Hux’s towel, too, was ripped from his own body and joined Roses as he got to his feet, never breaking the kiss as she moved backwards on the bed until, finally, Rose’s body was sprawled out on the bed for his hungry gaze.

Hux moved towards her slick sex, pink and ready for his mouth and without any pretense or soft coaxing, Hux plunged his tongue deep inside, making Rose scream out in pleasure as she gripped his hair. 

Hux ate at her pussy like a man starved; his nose and tongue taking turns to tease at her clit making her lose any and all semblance of composure.

“Oh fuck, Armitage!” she panted as she rose higher and higher towards her climax. “Yes!”

It was only when he had her quivering beneath him and having lapped all the juices she spilled for him did he move from between her legs; he gripped one of her legs and bending her knee over his shoulder so he could plunge his cock deep into her depths in one hard thrust, making her cry out again in agonizing pleasure. 

He bucked and thrusted into her body over and over until they were both puddles of sweat and smelled of sex and each other. 

Rose met every thrust, with her hips, gripping her short nails into his skin as she arched up into him trying to get him even deeper. When she came around his cock, Hux could feel her love pouring off of her in the waves of her own body. 

She loved him. Until this moment Armitage Hux hadn’t thought himself worthy of love in general, but to have the love of this woman was something he would hold onto for the rest of his life and never take it for granted.

Hux rolled them to their side, still buried deep inside of her not wanting to separate or break the spell they were under. Rose nuzzled into his neck, softly kissing and nipping a pattern into his skin with her lips and tongue, bringing Hux’s body back to life.

“I love you, Rose,” he said into her ear before he kissed the sensitive spot behind it, knowing it was her weakness; causing Rose to slowly undulate her hips where they were still connected. “Be mine forever?”

Without a word, Rose rolled them over until she straddled his body, the pressure of still being inside of her as well as the movement making Hux stiffen even more: he would never get enough of this woman.

Hux reached up, gently caressing and cupping her full and heavy breasts; her tight and hard nipples straining and begging for his touch. But when she leaned down and slightly to the side of him, he wondered what she was doing. 

Rose reached under the pillow beside his own head and pulled something out; it was small, black and looked to be leather. Then it hit him.

“Is that my glove?” he asked taking it from her to examine. “I thought one of the housekeeper droids had lost it. You had it all this time?”

Rose smiled and nodded, biting her lower lip and she took the glove back and began to place it on his hand. 

“What have you been up to with my glove, my love?” he asked as she guided his hand to the apex of her body, the place where their two bodies met and began to use his gloved hand to rub against her clit.

“This glove has come in handy more times than you can imagine,” Rose said breathlessly as he slowly began petting her clit, hoping she would continue. “and every time I came it was your name I cried out.”

“Oh, you naughty girl. I should punish you for stealing this from me.” Hux said as he increased the pressure against her clit making her inhale quickly and letting out a whimper of pleasure at the same time.

Rose began to move her hips against his gloved hand; his other one steadying her on his body as her movement became quicker and rougher. The slow and sultry rotations of her hips became harder curving her body towards his as she rode him like a fathire jockey. 

Watching Rose come apart on top of him, together with soft moans and heated whimpers, was Hux’s second favorite thing in the world; second only to hearing her say she loved him. Rose collapsed on top of Hux’s chest and the feeling of her body against his was everything he had ever wanted in his life. 

If in the morning she asked him to leave everything behind, the companies, the money, the power, all of it, Hux would do it without a second thought. He loved this woman, had loved her since the moment she walked down that staircase in Canto Bight; that deep red dress flowing around her making her look like an angel from so dark and sensual red planet. 

They laid in bed, talking and laughing, exchanging soft kisses and touches filled with heat and promise. Rose fell asleep in his arms, something that he would never grow tired of.

Once Hux was sure Rose was fast asleep Hux carefully slipped out from the warm confines of Rose’s body and padded to the refresher to clean up. He unplugged the tub and picked up the towels that had been tossed in a moment of heated passion. 

She loved him.

The thought made him smile again, as he walked to the small table in the bedroom by the window where they had had their dinner. As he put the dishes closer into the center of the table so he could flip up the cloth, hiding the empty plates, Hux heard a strange noise coming from the hallway. It wasn’t footsteps but a soft thump, like a large case hitting the floor.

Hux went back to the bed, thinking it was either the old house, or one of the other inhabitants,. But before he joined his sleeping Rose, he checked the drawer by the bed, a small blaster lay there, within easy reach if he needed it. 

Hux was about to slip back into bed; the welcoming comfort of Rose laying cuddled in front of him, when he heard the noise again, but this time it had come from the other end of the house.

Hux put his robe on then, and then made sure Rose was safe in the bed before reaching for his blaster, concealing it at his side as he opened the door.

“Armitage?” The soft voice came from the bed in the darkness of the room.

“Go back to sleep, my Sweet. I will be back in a moment.”

“Yes, go back to sleep, this won’t take long.” the rough voice came from the hallway and was all too familiar. 

“Tico, how the fuck did you find us?”

Hux wasn’t surprised very often. He had been shocked at his initial reaction to Rose. He had been startled to realize he would be fine if he quite the military to go into business with his vile excuse for a father. But Baze Tico showing up not only on the planet but in his home put Hux at a decided disadvantage, one he had not prepared for.

“Well, it’s nice to see you don’t know everything about my whore of a daughter,” Baze said.

Hux heard Rose scramble out of bed, and turned to watch her wrapped herself in the sheet they had just been nestled under.

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Hux turned back to Baze who now had his blaster trained on him. He tried to sound calm and collected and wholly in control of the situation. All three things far from the truth.

“I put a tracker on her the moment you showed up on Canto Bight and started sniffing around her.”

Baze was a vile man and Hux should have known he would do something like this. But in the back of his mind, Hux wasn’t sure how he hadn’t noticed a tracker. He had seen every minute inch of this woman’s body; knew it intimately. How head he missed it.

“There isn’t a tracker on me,” Rose uttered in confused panic.

“It’s a prototype I’m hoping to sell to the salvers. It runs through the blood stream.” Baze said as if he was proud of his achievement. “Now, Hux, are you going to return my property or are you going to die?”

Hux felt when Rose moved to stand next to him, almost as if she thought to stand in front of him; shield his body from a blaster. Where the hell was the damn Force user, why isn’t he here doing his fucking job? Hux moved again so he could protect Rose, placing her behind him as he raised his own blaster.

“Baze I suggest you leave before I have to kill you.”

Baze looked bored of the entire exchange and fired his blaster, hitting Hux in the chest.

Hux collapsed to the floor unable to move.

Distantly Hux could hear a scream; Rose and then a blaster being fired once, twice, three times. And then Rose was in his line of sight.

“Baby, please. Don’t leave me, don’t, please, Armitage, don’t leave me.” Rose’s face entered his vision; his angel was still alive. At least he would die knowing she was safe.

Loud noises began to fill the room, one’s he didn’t recognize.

It took a lot of energy for Hux to lift his arm and wipe tears from Rose’s eyes. 

Rose.

His Rose.

“I love you.”

The last thing Hux saw was Rose’s beautiful face.


	7. All Good Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of Rose and Hux's story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As Always I want to thank Brit for being the single best Beta and pushing me to think past the basic story line and helping me create this work. I understand it is a Fan Fiction but I have never been so proud of anything in my life. Thank you all who have read it and commented and left Kudos, it means so much to me! 
> 
> Also, I want to send a HUGE shoutout to @Ramenana on Tumblr for the beautful final moment placed at the end of the story. She really captured exactly the feeling of the scene.

All Good Things

The tinkling sound of a high-pitched bell could be heard over the soft hum of the machines Rose was looking at. 

“Hey, Gigi.” The small orange kitten let out a quiet squeak and rubbed her soft downy fur against Rose’s legs. Rose reached down and picked her up, bringing her close to her face, finding her purring comforting and calming her slightly, two things Rose hadn’t been able to feel in days.

“Don’t worry, Little One, Daddy will be fine.” 

In the hours and, now days since Baze Tico had reentered Rose’s life while on Arkanis, multiple things had taken place: Val had blasted through the door of the estate to find Baze and Hux on the floor. Both covered in blood, but only one clinging to life. Vaguely, Rose recalled him telling her he’d received intel about an unauthorized ship landing near to the house, but all Rose could hear was the sound of the blaster going off, the blaster that she had used to kill her father.

Val had figured out that it had been poison used to subdue the household staff, allowing Baze to enter the house undetected. It was later found the doses had been administered by one of the cadets Hux had placed to guard the house; he had been located leaving the academy grounds with a large amount of credits in his pocket. 

But it wasn’t until Paige and Phasma had arrived on Arkanis that the pieces the night’s events came together, filling the gaps of Baze Tico once he had left the couple’s apartment. What they could surmise was Baze had left the barracks already knowing where Rose and Hux were; but with Baze’s twisted mind he wanted to hear it from Paige so he could blame her for her sister’s deception, making her life even more Hell then it already was. 

But none of this mattered in the grand scheme of things: Baze Tico was dead and Rose had been the one to pull the trigger.

Rose heard Paige enter the room where Hux was submerged in the large bacta tank with no change in his vitals and Rose was at her wits end. Phasma had positioned herself next to the door, making sure that only those who had permission to be in the room entered. 

“Any change?” She heard Paige ask as she handed a small sandwich to Phasma who took it appreciably.

“No,” Phasma answered, taking a large bite out of the sandwich and making a small face. “I have not missed Academy food, I will tell you that.”

Rose couldn’t help but grin at Phasma’s reaction to the food, reminding Rose that this was the place she and Hux had met and become friends. That it was Hux who had made arrangements for her after being kicked out for killing another cadet in a sanctioned fight; having to move to the underground boxing world and finally being placed in Paige’s path by the man they were all hoping would wake up at any moment. 

Protecting Rose hadn’t been his first venture into being a good man. The stories from Mitaka and Val’s history together with Phasma just proved that Armitage Hux was a good man under that pomp and hair gel. That beneath his sharp as a blade exterior he showed to the galaxy, Hux was kind and thoughtful. 

It made her love him even more.

“Rose,” Paige placed the tray down next to her sister who had been reading out loud from Hux’s journals Val had brought from the archives for her. Rose loved Hux’s mind, how he worked through problems, but it had always been about business. In the days before traveling to Arkanis, Rose had been privy to a few business meetings. 

Watching the way Hux worked was so different from how Baze had, Rose thought. Hux tried to see all angles when he negotiated a contract, even if the deal seemed straight forward and without issue, he tried to see how the other party could use it against him. Baze, Rose had noticed, had believed he was always in the better seat at the negotiation table and never tried to see how the other party was viewing the same terms. 

Hux had even begun asking her advice on different contract measures; gaging her knowledge and understanding for his work, she supposed. 

Rose had always known Hux had been savvy in the business world; one did not make the kind of credits Hux had in that short period of time without being a bright star. Learning he was an engineering prodigy as well had Rose’s head spinning with the possibilities.

“Placing the ion blasters on the underside while connecting it to the hyper drive it will boost your speed by one and a half jumps.” Rose spoke to Hux who had been floating in a cylinder of healing bacta liquid for three days with no signs of improvement. 

“Rose, honey I need you to eat.” Paige tried to get her attention.

“Did you ever get to test this one, Armitage?” Rose asked, ignoring Paige. “Was it all theory or did you actually build these machines of war?” Rose said ignoring Paige.

“Rose.”

“Perhaps this should be your next venture, instead of buying the fleets at cost, then turning a profit once they were sold; you have the fleets built by your own then selling those at twice the price.”

“Rose!” Paige finally pulled the datapad out of Rose’s hand replacing the space it left with the sandwich.

“I don’t want it,” Rose said like a defiant child.

“I don’t care,” Paige countered. “You’re eating it.”.

It didn’t matter what she ate, Rose could taste nothing but blood and bile. 

With a sigh, Rose took a small bite, allowing Paige to feel as if she had won a small battle but not the war; Rose then grabbed the datapad back from her sister, reading aloud from it while ignoring Paige. 

Rose didn’t want to be unkind to her sister. But she was angry at the universe and Paige was the only one who was willing to take the brunt of it. Rose loved her sister, and nothing would ever change that. She knew Paige was riddled with guilt over placing Rose in the path of Baze Tico. 

But Rose wasn’t.

Without the deal she had made all those years ago, Rose would not have Hux and Paige would not have Phasma. If what Paige felt for Phasma was even half of what Rose for Hux, then she knew she would never regret a moment of the past.

Rose watched out of the corner of her eye as Paige stood up again, walking over to Phasma and wrapped her arms around the taller woman, Phasma’s arms embracing her without hesitation. Would she ever feel Hux’s arms wrapped around her again? Would she be able to fall asleep and wake up with his scratchy beard brushing against her skin?

Rose looked away from the couple steps behind from her, tears burning her eyes, and back down at the datapad.

_Be mine, forever._

Hux’s words echoed in Rose’s mind, the meaning ringing like a bell. Rose wanted to scream at the injustice of everything that had happened, but she simply didn’t have the strength. Rose hadn’t left this room save for brief moments to visit the fresher; she was never gone longer than five minutes, her fear of being gone when he woke beat at her every moment. 

Rose was tired.

Physically and emotionally drained but couldn’t move from her seat in front of the bacta tank Hux was currently being healed in. Nothing had changed in three days and Rose chose to see that as a good thing; if nothing has changed that simply meant he wasn’t getting worse. He would return to her and they would be able to be together forever.

Rose stood from her chair and walked around the room; it was large, the tank in its center. A medical bed was situated in one corner as well as an oxygen tank in the other. Rose walked towards the tank, placing her hand on the glass as if she could touch him. 

“Come back to me, please.” Rose whispered as she looked up at the man floating in the healing liquid; his now longer hair dancing in the liquid and his beard, which he had been growing for her had become fuller in the last few days. Hux’s body was bare except for a small pair of shorts covering his personal area which Rose thought was funny since Hux never wore underwear. In all the years she had known him, and as their relationship had grown into a physical one, he had never worn anything under his trousers. 

How long had it been since Paige had given her the sandwich? Hours? Days? Rose had begun tracking the passage of time using the medical droid coming in to check on Hux and something told her it was late. Looking down at the panel of beeps and lights keeping Hux alive, she realized it had been some time since he was last checked on by a member of staff.

“…She hasn’t slept for three days, Jyn! I can barely get to eat; what makes you think she’d be up for this?” Paige’s voice was suddenly heard over the constant hum of the machinery Rose was standing next to.

“I understand where you are coming from, Paige, I really do, but she needs to meet with him.” Rose heard Jyn’s answer and was even more confused as to what was happening. “The entire business will go under if she doesn’t take charge.”

Rose was hesitant to leave the medical room, but she had to know what was going on. On shaky legs she walked to the door and pressed the panel to open the sliding durasteel. This would be the first time since she had been brought to the medical building she’d leave the room and she didn’t really know what to expect: the hallways looked like those on the ships she had just been on with Hux, but there was something else to them, a sense of order and coldness that gave her the feeling of constant movement. These halls were not meant to be lingered in, for conversations or otherwise. The four people standing mere feet from her looked out of place and disjointed. Their argument seemed even more so.

“So what? Let the whole thing fall apart!” Paige clipped back at Jyn, who seemed to be pleading with Paige about something. “He built an empire of pain and suffering. Why should Rose take that over?”

“Because she could change it and make it better,” Jyn bit back at Paige.

“Not to mention, Paige, Baze would have hated it.” Paige glaired at Phasma who was appearing to take Jyn’s side.

“I don’t want to upset her more than she already is.” Paige looked as tired as Rose felt. 

“Meeting with him will just add to the stress.”

“Meet with who?” Rose finally said from the doorway, not leaving Hux, but wanting to engage in the conversation of which she was the topic.

They all turned to her then, Paige and Jyn walking towards her with Phasma and Mitaka following in their wake.

“Meet with who, Paige?” Rose watched as the three turned to Paige, defering to her to fill Rose in on the conversation.

“Von.” Rose was ready for any name to be uttered, Qi’ra or Cal would have been possible, perhaps members of other Cartels and syndicates she had had dinners with playing the doting daughter through the years. But never could she prepare herself to hear that one.

“Von? Why would I meet with Von?” Rose turned to Jyn. “What could he and I possibly have to talk about?”

Jyn stepped closer and took Rose’s hand. 

“There is a business transaction which need immediate attention.”

“That still doesn’t explain why he would want to talk to me.” Rose was becoming annoyed. The last thing she wanted to do was be in the same room with that man, let alone sit down and talk business with him.

“Mistress, you are the heir to the Tico business holdings,” Jyn said clearly and matter of fact, looking at Mitaka who handed over a datapad.

“Mistress Rose, it would appear that your father-”

“Baze Tico is not my father.” The statement was said in a clear but clipped voice; Rose would not be known as that monster’s daughter any longer.

“Of course, Mistress. Understood.” Mitaka corrected himself carefully.

“Please, stop calling me that. The next person to call me Mistress will be fired.” Rose ran her fingers through her hair in frustration.

Jyn and Mitaka looked at each other as if having a conversation through one glance.

“Tico,” Mitaka continued, “when he adopted you, he instated you as his soul beneficiary.” Mitaka said as she took the datapad he offered.

On it read Baze’s will as well as multiple legal documents that Rose did not understand. She wished Hux awake and by her side to help her weed through them. 

Paige stepped closer to Rose, looking over her shoulder to read the documents as well. 

“Why, though?” Paige asked in just as much confusion as Rose was feeling.

“Tax loopholes,” Mitaka answered changing the screen they had been looking at to a new document. 

“There is a loophole in the Corporate Sector’s tax code that allowed Baze to avoid paying tax on his estate if he entrusted it in its entirety to his child. He will not have to pay on the estate itself. He only pays on the interest the estate generates.”

Paige backed away as Rose turned to look at her sister.

“He said,” Paige said quietly remembering the conversation in the transport that night she made the deal. “I will take your sister and raise her as my own. I will care for her as if she were my own.” Paige looked at Rose as if pieces of a puzzle once thought lost miraculously reappeared filling in gaping holes.

_She will help me more than you could possibly imagine._

Remembering the rest of the conversation between her and Baze left Paige feeling uneasy. “I always thought he meant he was lonely, he wished for a child, someone to care for. But…”

“I was a tax loophole.” Rose finished Paige’s sentence flatly and without emotion. They were all quiet for long moments, the only sound the soft whirling and bubbling coming from the tank keeping Hux alive.

Rose let out a deep breath and looked from the room where Hux was clinging to life back to the group in front of her, watching her expectantly.

“He’s here now?” Rose finally asked Jyn and Mitaka; both nodded in acknowledgment to her question.

Rose looked down at the datapad and then back at Hux, unsure what the right move was: did she meet with a man who stood at Baze’s right hand, someone who was privy to all of his underhanded deals and illegal operations, including the one where she would be sold to the highest bidder to pay off his debts? Or did she stay with Hux on the off chance he took this moment to come back to her?

Rose thought about what Hux would do in this situation; she looked down at herself, the military combat training outfit a size too big for her small frame hung from her body. Well, he sure as a hell wouldn’t meet with anyone in this outfit.

“Fine,” Rose had made up her mind, and just hoped it was the right decision. “But I won’t meet with him looking like this.”

Jyn smiled and gestured down the hallway.

“I have just the thing.”

An hour later, Jyn helped Rose into the charcoal suit jacket that draped over the trim trousers of the same color. The scent that surrounded her was divine: a mix of the soap and shampoo she had used paired with the lingering scent of Hux which remained on the material of the suit.

“I cannot believe you had one of Armitage’s suits altered to fit me,” Rose said with a small smile, sitting down again to give her friend better access as she put the finishing touches on her hair.

“If Hux has a problem with it when he wakes, Jyn looked at Rose through the mirror feigning innocence. “He can take it up with Mitaka. It was his idea.”

The slight laugh that Rose let out felt good, not having done so since the night everything changed. She was a killer now: it didn’t matter that it had been in self-defense, she had killed another person, taken their life with a single focus. Should she even be laughing at a time like this? Hux was still in critical condition and here she was about to have a meeting with the man who was the Right Hand of Baze Tico. Every deal Baze ever made was either made through Von or at least signed off by him.

“Jyn,” Rose finally ventured to speak the words that wouldn’t stop floating through her head as the last hair was neatly put into place. “What makes you think I can do this?”

Jyn stopped what she was doing and came around to face Rose.

“I will answer your question with another question.”

“I hate when you do that.”

“I know,” Jyn cocked her eyebrow and smiled. “that’s why I do it.”

Rose sat back in her chair and gestured to Jyn to have her continue.

“What makes you think you _can’t_ do it?” Jyn wasn’t asking in jest nor did she have any derision in her voice. 

“What do I know about business, Jyn?”

Jyn stood up again, coming around to stand at Rose’s back and look her in the mirror.

“More than you know, Rose.”

His eyes didn’t want to open. The warmth from whatever surrounded him lulled him into a sense of safety and serene calm.

_ARMITAGE!_

Rose’s voice shooting through his conscious forced his mind to come alive, even as the rest of his body was perfectly content to stay in a stationary status. 

Hux forced his eyes open, tried to focus through haze of his brain and the liquid that surrounded him. When he saw shapes through the viscus bacta he was submerged in, he pushed himself to the top of the tank.

“Rose!” Hux shouted as he took the breathing mask off and looked around with unfocused eyes.

“Hux! Calm down, let’s get you out of there.” He didn’t know who had spoken, his ears were still clogged from the tank. 

“Where is she?” Hux fought to get out of the tank only to be held in place by a droid.

“ROSE!”

“Master Hux, please allow us to extricate you from the healing tank.” He heard the cold computer-generated voice of the medical droid.

“Hux,” the voice came again but this time it was easier to determine who had spoken, his eyes finally able to focus on the other person in the room.

“Phasma!” He yelled out, his voice raw and scratchy from the lack of use. “Rose? Where is Rose?”

As inelegant as it was to have a droid move him as if he were a lightspeed engine being placed into a ship, Hux was lifted from the tank and into a warm tub of water to wash off the residual bacta. 

“Hux, calm down.” Phasma said to him as the droids began to clean off his body.

“Is she alive? Baze, did Baze…” Hux felt out of control of not only his actions but his emotions. If anything had happened to Rose, he would never survive it.

“Rose is fine,” Phasma tried to reassure him the best she could. “She is down the hall. Cal, Jyn, Mitaka and Paige are with her.”

Hux’s mind was a jumble of thoughts and feelings making it difficult to communicate. 

“Rose is fine…” he repeated. “Rose is fine…” It was a mantra he repeated to himself as if it were the only thing tethering him to the ground.

“Please, Master Hux, we must get you cleaned and into bed,” the medical droid pleaded with him.

“I want to see her.” Hux tried to move from the tub where he was being bathed like a child, splashing water onto the floor.

“Hux please,” Phasma moved towards him careful not to slip on the water. “You are in no condition…”

“I WANT TO SEE HER!” Hux yelled, then softened. “Please, Phasma. I need to see her.”

Hux knew this was not protocol; he had been through medical training as a boy and then extensive combat medical training as an officer cadet to know his limbs were not able to hold even his slight weight. Hux would get to Rose, even if he had to crawl to her.

Phasma let out a heavy sigh and looked back at Val who had joined them after hearing the commotion.

“Well, I’m not carrying him.” Val said with a small laugh. 

It took a while for Hux to get to the point where he was ready to see Rose. Having to wait until he had been cleaned and checked by the droids and then given a walking stick to lean on until his motor skills were more in his control. He wished to dress in a suit but as he would be forced back into that damn hospital bed, to be poked and prodded again, Hux had to settle for a loose-fitting tunic and a pair of lounge pants, Provided by Val. 

“You can keep those, by the way.” Val commented as Hux pulled them on without any underwear. 

As he dressed, Hux filed away all the new information Phasma had informed him on about Baze Tico using Rose as a tax loophole; the antiquated and little used filing had Hux wishing the man were still alive so that he could go through on his plans to take the man’s life himself. He wouldn’t have done it the same was as he had killed his own father. He’d planned for it to be messy and in public. Hux wanted to show the sector that Tico was not to be trusted but that his daughter was different, Hux would never use Rose the way Baze had, instead he would mold and promote the intelligence and skill she had always shown Hux to be.

Hux knew she would be fine with the business part of the meeting; she was so smart and had amazing instincts where business was concerned. It was Von he didn’t like. The man was a sell sword, for lack of a better term. He would give his allegiance and powerful weight behind anyone who would pay him enough.

Walking down the hallway towards the meeting room Rose was currently in, Hux couldn’t help the flashes of recognition of his childhood within these walls; the smells, sights and sounds imprinted on his memories. The memories weren’t all terrible; Hux remembered the first time he had met Mitaka: they had both been scrawny little slips of boys but together they made quite a pair. 

Mitaka hadn’t ever been asked to be Hux’s valet and personal attendant, it was just something that he’d begun doing. Now, Hux knew he would never be complete without his right hand to help him through difficult situations. Mitaka had already stepped down from officer training by the time Hux had left the Academy but taking him away from Val still weighed on Hux’s mind. Did Mitaka have regrets about leaving the other man? Did he resent Hux for having to separate from a man he had loved in the past? These were all questions he wished he had time to ask the man who was essentially Hux’s dearest and closest friend. 

“Hux!” Cal shouted from his guard position outside the meeting room’s door. “Look at you up and about. I knew you were too stubborn to die.”

“Thank you, Cal.,” Hux replied as he got closer to the door. “And thank you for taking care of my Rose. You have gone above and beyond and I will be sad to see you return back to your crew.

Hux watched as the redhead blushed a little at the compliment. Hux liked the Force user and thought perhaps he should talk with his boss, Qi’ra about keeping him permanently.

“I’ll let them know you’re here,” Cal said as he turned to the closed-door panel but Hux stopped him.

“No, actually I think I’d like to just listen in.” Hux said and pointed to the anteroom where food was prepped to be brought in away from the dignitaries and medical personnel who normally used this room. Close enough to head what was being said, but not in view of those in the room.

“If you say so, Boss!” Cal moved back into position guarding the door as Hux walked carefully into the smaller room. 

Von’s voice was the first thing he heard making Hux grip the handle of the cane tighter. The sound of the bastard’s voice causing Hux to think of many violent things he wished to do to the man.

“…And I understand that, Mistress Rose, but your father wished…”

“My father is dead,” Rose stated clearly and to the point. Her voice came through the door and straight into Hux’s soul. Rose was not only safe, but she was in control of her own life once and for all. No one, especially not Von was going to take that from her.

“I know he is dead because I was the one who killed him.”

“Fuck.” Hux muttered under his breath careful not to be heard. He’d known this but it didn’t hurt any less to realize she was going to have to live with it.

“I killed him because he snuck into my private quarters and shot the man I love at point blank range.” Rose continued.

“Your father believed you were in danger.” Von countered sheepishly.

“No.”

There was silence.

“No?”

“No, he did not think I had been kidnaped because there is a tracker on me. Or there was. I had the medical droids here trace and extract it so I will not be a risk to myself or anyone else I love.”

“Mistress…”

“I’m not finished.” There was a pause and Hux fought the need to enter the room fully and protect her.

“It would seem that I own the entire holdings of the Tico Triad, is that correct?”

There was no answer so Hux assumed Von gave her a nonverbal indication.

“Yes, and I would assume that he, my so-called father, was in the process of transferring the power and control since I was soon to be sold off to the highest bidder?”

There was another pause; the silence was killing Hux.

“You don’t have to acknowledge this, Von, I know it to be true. My father was in debt up to his eyeballs and he chose to sell me to one of his creditors as payment. Now, my only question is, what of the rest of the debts? How did he think to pay these off?”

Hux knew there were no more debts, he made sure that every one of Baze’s creditors were paid what they were owed and then some to keep them away from Rose. 

“Well,” Von’s voice was lower and without the normal powerful timber it normally possessed. 

“Well?” Rose prompted?

“Well, Mistress, it would seem that you do not have to worry about those debts. They have been taken care of.”

“Yes,” Rose responded in a quick and non-emotional manner. “Armitage Hux payed them off.”

This was Hux’s cue to join the meeting.

Rose sat as straight as she could in the large chair that was meant for someone much larger than her petting Gigi in her lap to keep as calm as she could while talking with the piece of shit in front of her.

Mitaka moved around her and brought up the transactions on the holoprojector for Von to read.

“You stupid girl,” Von laughed but there was no mirth behind it. “Now Hux owns you. You may be fucking him, but he will still make you pay; one way or another.

Rose wanted to vomit. She hated this man and what he was insinuating.

“Actually,” Rose heard the voice come from behind and almost bolted from her seat to rush to his side, but both Jyn and Mitaka placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her seated. She had to maintain a look of control and rushing to Hux and showing he was her weakness would play into Von’s hands.

“The payoff was a gift,” Hux continued as she walked to her chair. Rose reached out one of her hands for him, he took the offered hand and kissed her knuckles. Suddenly all was right in the universe.

“A gift? When the fuck have you ever done something and not wanted something else in return?” Von asked skeptically.

“Yes, Von. I paied off Tico’s debts as a wedding gift. I didn’t want my Bride to worry about such things and I was happy to do it.”

Mitaka pulled a chair for him to sit in next to Rose and she had to imagine what they looked like sitting next to each other: an pair of galactic royal houses coming together to bring order to the outer rim, perhaps? Or an Emperor and his Empress holding court. Either way, Rose knew she and Hux gave off the impression they were stronger together.

“So, there you have it,” Rose said after long moments of thanking who or whatever she could for bringing this man back to her.

“If there is anything else, Von, you may speak with my second, Jyn Erso.” She motioned for Jyn to step forward and smiled inwardly when Jyn held out her hand to take the datapads Von had been holding.

“I’ll take those, Sir.”

“I believe your services are no longer needed.” Hux said with a soft voice.

“Nor are they welcomed.” Rose continued.

“Rose, I have been making this deal for the past four months. You can’t expect me to,”

“I expect you to do what I say, Von!” She shouted at him standing up slightly, Gigi leaping off her lap.

“You were going to allow him to sell me. How dare you sit there and think I have any feelings for you in this or any other matter. You are no longer welcome here or anywhere the Tico name is used. If I ever see you again, I will have you escorted off the premises. What happens to you after that, I don’t care”

Paige came out of the shadows as menacing as ever just to prove her point. Cal, too, came into the room when the shouting began giving credence to the threat.

Rose watched as Von handed over the datapads to Jyn who was still waiting patiently then stood up. 

“You are going to regret this, little girl.”

“Is that a threat?” Paige said and stepped closer.

“Paige,” Rose said clearly. “He’s not worth it.”

Rose watched as Paige and Cal escorted Von out of the room, Mitaka and Jyn leaving the room after gathering the holodisks and data pads, leaving Rose and Hux alone.

“I thought I lost you.” Rose whispered once she heard the doors close with a hiss. She tried every trick she had to keep herself from crying, but was failing miserably; the hot, heavy tears fell down her cheek. 

“I told you, Darling,” Hux reached out and brushed a tear away from her check. “you’re stuck with me.”

Rose let out a relieved sob and without thinking jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding on tightly. 

“Omff!” The sound of discomfort from Hux had Rose recoiling from him, scrambling off his neck and looking down at his body.

“Oh shit, Armitage, I am so sorry, did I hurt you?” Rose asked carefully, feeling his body for injuries.

“No, my love, I’m fine. Still a little bruised but,” he reached back and pulled her towards his lap; Rose carefully took a seat. “but having you in my arms is worth the discomfort.”

Rose leaned in and kissed him deeply, her arms wrapping around his neck and feeling at home feeling his arms tightening around her own waist.

“So, what do you think?” Hux said a little while later when they finally pulled back from one another.

“Think about what?” Rouse couldn’t help but pet and stroke his beard that had grown so soft and thick over the last few days.

“Marry me.” Hux didn’t ask it so much as stated it.

“Marry you?” Rose had forgotten that he phrased his paying off Baze’s debts as a “wedding present” and only thought that had just been another level of deception.

“I could make a whole speech and profess my undying love and devotion to you if you want. But I think you know how I feel about you. I have wanted you to be mine since I saw you walk down those stairs, and the moment you kissed me on that couch I was yours and yours alone.”

Rose looked at him and could do nothing but smile.

“I thought _you_ kissed _me_?” Rose asked with mock confusion.

“No, I am pretty sure _you_ kissed me _first_.” he volleyed back.

“Oh dear, I think you must have hit your head. Your memory just isn’t right. We should get that checked out…” Rose responded.

“There is nothing wrong with my memory and you are avoiding the topic at hand,” Hux said, reaching up to cup her face, forcing Rose to look deep into his clear sea glass green eyes.

“Will you be mine?”

New tears stung her eyes but these she let fall. 

“Oh Armitage, how do you not know my answer is Yes?”

They kissed again and, like the first time the feel of his lips and tongue caressing hers was like they were meant to be hers. It took years for these two to come together and even longer for them to admit to themselves that what they felt was real and could not be ignored.

In this kiss she felt all the love and admiration he had for her flowing into her and Rose gave as good as she got. 

Epilogue: One Year Later

Hux placed one hand on the wet stone wall in front of him as the other tightly gripped onto soft flesh as he trusted up into Rose’s body; her arms snaked their way behind her and around his neck. Each motion of his body made Rose whimper, moaning with pleasure as she met his hips. The sound of flesh meeting flesh could be heard over the water spilling over the natural stone shower they had built not long after moving back into the estate on Arkanis. 

“Fuck, Rose…” Hux growled through gritted teeth as he pistoned into her silken body that covered his shaft like a glove. The hand that had been holding Rose’s hip in place slipped down and began to play with her clit, rubbing and plucking the sensitive pearl making Rose’s body go wild beneath him: Hux knew how to please his wife.

“Armitage, oh fuck, Yes I’m coming…” each word was grunted in short bursts as he buried himself into her over and over again, each time deeper than the one before.

Hux slowed his movements and focused on the fingers circling his wife’s clit, not letting up the pressure until she was putty in his arms. Once his woman was sated and the sheath, he was buried deeply inside slowed it’s squeezing tempo, Hux thrust in deep taking and held there to take his own pleasure now that Rose’s had been sated. It didn’t take long before he himself was spurting his own orgasm deep within her body, hoping beyond hope that it would hit the mark and do its job.

After long moments Hux pulled out and turned Rose around, carefully cleansing her body, taking extra care between her legs and kissing her deep while he rubbed against the sensitive spot at the apex, coaxing yet one more orgasm from her tired body.

“Is my wife sated?” he mumbled against her mouth.

“Not even close,” was her answer, as it always was when he asked her this question.

“I am so very happy to hear this, but,” he pulled away and cupped her face in his hands. “We have a meeting in an hour, and I don’t think General Organa would enjoy us being late because we couldn’t keep our hands off of one another.”

“Apparently you’ve never heard the gossip about her and the well-known scoundrel Han Solo.” Rose said. 

“But fine,” Rose said giving him one last kiss before exiting the shower. “Jyn has some things for me to look over before the meeting anyway.”

In the year since the attack and the death of Baze Tico, so much had changed for the him and Rose, both as individuals as well as a couple. The two had married almost instantly from the moment he had asked, and she answered in the affirmative. 

Hux watched as his wife exited the shower and walk into the dressing room down the hall from their bedroom and private refresher; carefully Hux followed. It took three months of rehab for Hux to recover and he still relied on a cane to walk, though if he was being honest, he felt it made him look more distinguished using one.

In that three months, so much more had come out about Tico and his business holdings; Hux had always known Tico was wealthy, and the fact that he had allowed himself to go into that kind of debt made very little sense to Hux. But, as it turned out, Baze had multiple holdings under different accounts, making Rose even more wealthy than Hux once all the numbers were added together. Not that Hux cared about that. He was happy to know, if anything were to happen to him, Rose would be taken care of. 

Hux had also released both Phasma and Paige’s fighting contracts; the two were free to travel to wherever they wished and live their lives in peace. Paige, however, chose to stay close to Rose and now she and Phasma had become the head of the security team now surrounding Rose and him. Hux didn’t feel the need for it, but it made him feel good that Rose was protected and to have Paige around her. 

The other big change in the Hux-Tico household was Mitaka’s role. When Rose moved Jyn into a place of authority as her right hand, he did the same with Mitaka, not that he wasn’t doing the job before, but Hux felt it was time to change his need for the man. Mitaka was Jyn’s counterpart and Hux swore the two together could rule the galaxy on their own. 

Still naked, Hux moved through the fresher and into his own closet and dressing room and went to the line of black suits and shirts. Hux pulled a classic black suit jacket and matching trousers down from the rack and walked carefully to the small ice blue couch located to the side. It took longer for him to dress thanks to his slight balance issue but dressing himself had been a nice change, the regaining of his independence had been a milestone for Hux, and he didn’t wish to lose it again to a new valet or even a droid.

When Hux was ready, he walked into the main bedroom he shared with Rose and, as normally happened when he caught sight of her dress, was stuck dumb at her beauty. 

Rose finished with her hair and put on the finishing touched of makeup before standing up from her seat at the vanity to untie her robe and finish dressing for their meeting. It had taken Rose a little longer than she was prepared to admit, getting used to dressing herself, having lost Jyn to her new elevated and well-deserved position Rose had learned to care for herself. And, if she was honest to herself, she actually preferred it. 

After everything that had happened with Baze and Von, the last thing Rose wished to do was return to Canto Bight. And Hux’s rehab had given Rose a perfect excuse for not doing so. In the time she had spent with Hux here, she has grown to love the ice and cold, the rich colors and natural wonders. Once they had moved back into the estate, after making extensive renovations to accommodate Hux’s new needs as well as keep the place better protected Rose was finally able to feel as if she were home. 

Rose stood up from her seat and walked to the small couch she had in the dressing room, dropping her robe, she stood naked and felt Hux’s eyes on her from across the space.

“Excuse me sir, but if you want to have this meeting you cannot look at me like that.” She said with a coy smile.

“Well, perhaps the General can wait…” Hux answered.

Hux stood across from her respondent in the casual suits he had begun dressing in since coming here. His hair was a tussled mess of perfection and the beard she insisted he keep made him look even more dangerous than he did in his tight and overly complicated dressings on Canto Bight. 

Rose shook her head and finished dressing herself, the bright red of her own suit a stark contrast to his black. 

Red had always been a color Rose had been drawn to; whether it be because of her name, or because it brought her attention or perhaps it was because it just looked good on her. Rose insisted she dress in as much red as possible. 

Once dressed, Hux walked into the room and offered her his arm, Rose took it without hesitation. She would walk with him anywhere. She knew once they excited the sanctuary of the rooms and into the hallway the two would be attacked from their family. 

And that is how Rose saw them: Jyn and Mitaka had gotten married at the same time she and Hux had, and even had a baby on the way. Phasma and Paige were their protection but also a security blanket for both she and Hux. They all lived in the estate and at the end of the business day, they came together for meals and camaraderie as families should. 

“After you, Darling.” Hux opened the door and allowed Rose to step out ahead of her. The walk down the hall to the main common rooms was short, and as they approached, she smiled at Cal who was lounging on the couch with Gigi playing with a small string. Cal didn’t live here permanently, like the others, but came to check in on the estate and offer help in any way he could. But Rose knew it was really so he could play with the cat.

Once they had entered the room, everyone fell into lockstep, Phasma and Paige moved in behind them, Jyn and Mitaka flanked each of them explaining whatever news had come over the datapad since they had seen each other at dinner, Cal and Gigi trailing behind. 

“…She is going to offer to pay 14,000 credits for each unit, but we cannot go below 15,500.” Jyn informed Rose as they walked to the office. Alone with the move and his rehab, Hux had taken Rose’s advice and began to design ships that he sold at a very easy profit. The war was over, but the Reformed Republic still needed ships to protect the outer rim territories like Hays Major and Minor so why not Hux’s ships?

“Let’s see what the General has to offer in exchange to make up the difference. Sometimes goods and favors are just as good as credits, Jyn.” Rose countered. 

The group walked into the large office and each took their place. The table in the middle had the holoprojector in its center and there were four chairs surrounding it: two at the head and the other two on either side all easily seen by whoever was on the projector. 

Rose an Hux took their seats at the head of the table with Phasma and Paige standing century behind them. Jyn and Mitaka take their seats on each side ready for the negotiations. 

“Jyn, whenever the General is ready, connect us.” Rose said to her partner and then turned to smile at Hux who takes her hand, kissing it softly. 

“Ms. Tico-Hux, it is lovely to see you again,” General Organa said once she showed on the projector. 

Rose took one more moment to take her husband in; the beauty of his face was sometimes a true distraction to her. Rose took one more deep breath and turned to face the woman floating on her table.

“And you, General. And please, call me Rose.” Rose said with a smile. “How can Finalizer and Briarpatch be of service to you?”

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think with Kudos and Comments!


End file.
